Louds Adventures in Micha
by Thefoxmage
Summary: Though he earned his trainers license at eleven, Lincoln held off on going on his own Pokemon journey to help his parents with his many sisters. With Lola and Lana earning their own licenes, he decides it was time to start his own adventure in his home region of Micha. Currently rated T for language and certain situations. May chance if things escalate.
1. Chapter 1: It Begins pt 1

_AN: Yeah. I know...I really shouldn't be posting a new story when I have so many other stories in the works, but here we are. A Pokemon/Loud House crossover story. This story was heavily inspired by SilverNugget's Pokemon Loud Version series._

_A couple things I want to go over before we get started. First off, I decided to turn the Loud's home state of Michigan into it's own pokemon region, the Micha region. I did this because I wanted to try something slightly different from sending Lincoln or the Louds to one of the pre-existing regions (though I suspect it has been done before. Haven't read all of the LH/Pokemon stories). The other regions will exist in the story, however, which means Alolan and Galar forms will be available, if very rarely found. I haven't finalized what kinds of pokemon could be found where, but I can work on that as I go._

_Second order of business: possible romantic partner for Lincoln. Yes, it will most likely happen (nothing set in stone presently). However, I don't plan to use any pairings that I have done before, so no Ronnie Anne and possibly no Christina (as she is a possibility in another fic of mine). I also will not be putting him in another polyamorous relationship. There can be only one. Most of the characters canon to the Loud House will probably appear, so place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. Will it be one of the minor characters from the series? An OC (will try to avoid this)? A humanshape pokemon? Even I don't know yet. Just one little request of mine: PLEASE don't spam me with requests for your favorite pairing._

_However, if you would like to request to see certain Pokemon in any other the main characters' teams, let me know. Just don't make it the only thing in your review if you put it in the review section please. I can't promise I will use it, but I will say Lincoln will have at least one of each type of pokemon (dual types using their main type as one), so it may happen. And on that note, I will be placing a poll in my profile around the same time I'll be posting this story with the following question: What type do you think Lincoln's starting pokemon should be? I already decided with the other characters, but with Lincoln, he could go in pretty much any direction with his choice. So I decided to give you all the chance to pick what he starts with. Simply cast your vote on the poll and, if you'd like a specific initial stage or baby non legendary pokemon, let me know in the reviews or in the PMS (just don't make it the only thing in your message, please). You'll have plenty of time to cast your vote, as I don't plan to take it down until I finish and post one of the two chapters I'm working on for Tales from Grimwood. Once the poll is closed, I'll take the top three type choices, along with a select number of pokemon (which will include fan picks, a pick from me for each type, and all available starters if fire, water or grass are selected), and pick one at random. Winner is Lincoln's starter. _

_I think that's all from me for now. If I forgot anything, I;ll edit the author notes, or simply put it at the start of the next chapter. With that out of the way, sorry for the long winded not and enjoy the story._

* * *

It begins pt 1

"Ladies and Gentlemen, viewers from all over the Micha region and beyond!" A woman with long brown hair dressed all in yellow declared, holding a microphone in her right hand and wearing an almost forced smile on her face. Behind her was what looked like a battle arena built to look like a wizard's study, complete with a bubbling cauldron set to the side, near some floor to ceiling bookshelves. At either end of the circular chamber were large openings, covered by deep purple curtains covered in sparkling stars. Near the entrance to the arena was a cocky looking teen girl with blonde hair done in pigtails, wearing a pink jacket with a black crop top underneath it, with denim shorts and pink go go boots. Standing near the exit was a middle aged woman with curly, silver hair, wearing a star speckled light purple robe and cloak and a matching witch's hat, holding a crystal ball in one hand and a red and white ball in her other hand. "Katherine Mulligan here, bringing you the first battle of the Elite Four for the Pokemon League season. Ready to battle for a chance to earn herself a spot in the Micha Region Pokemon League Tournament is Elenor Mikias," The reporter/commentator gestured toward the young lady in pink, who was lightly tossing a pink ball with a heart upon it in her hand. "And her first opponent, the mystical mistress of psychic pokemon, Xythia!" She pointed back toward the woman in the robe and hat.

"Miss Mikias, I welcome you into my inner sanctum," Xythia said in a soft, gentle tone. "It was no doubt a long, arduous journey to collect the eight badges-"

"Ugh. Cut the speech, lady," Elenor rudely cut her off, her fingers clenched on the ball in her hand. "I've got better things to do today than listen to you ramble on." The silver haired woman just looked at the crass teen girl with an almost blank expression before she shrugged.

"If that is what you wish, then let the battle begin," she responded, not the least big perturbed by her rudeness. "I will start with...Hatterene, come forth." She gently tossed the ball in her hand forward, which burst open and unleashed a bright flash of light. When the light faded, before her stood a blue, pink and white creature that looked somewhat like a witch and an alien, with a clawed tentacle extending from her pointed hat.

"Hmph. This should be easy. Go, Haxorus!" Elenor called out, hurling her own spheroid in front of her. The ball burst open and from it spawned a large yellowish green dragon with black legs and underbelly, and sharp bladed tusks sticking out the sides of its face. The draconic creature leered at Hatterene, trying to frighten her despite being a foot shorter than her. "Haxorus, obliterate that freaky thing with Outrage!" Haxorus roared toward the ceiling, its fists being surrounded by fiery energy before it charged the mysterious, witch like being. She stood without fear in the face of the drake as it swung its fist at her face. It hit her dead on, the draconic energy exploding on contact, but the attack didn't seem to hurt her much. In fact, it had absolutely no effect on Hatterene. "What!?"

"Miss Mikias, Hatterene is part fairy type," Xythia explained to her, shaking her head in a disappointed way. "Dragon type attacks do no damage to fairy pokemon."

"Bull****!" Elenore spat, her swear bleeped out by an unseen sound editor. "Dragons are the most powerful pokemon in the world! They're unbeatable!"

"Dragons are, indeed, very powerful creatures. However, they are far from invincible. Allow me to demonstrate. Hatterene, Dazzling Gleam, if you please." The witch like fairy pokemon nodded, her eyes glowing as she released a kaleidoscopic array of light upon Haxorus. Unlike its opponent, the dragon looked like it was in terrible pain as the colorful light washed over it. Elenor was forced to cover her eyes from the brightness, and when she felt it was safe to look again, she was greeted to the sight of the dragon face down on the floor, unable to fight any further.

* * *

Watching the battle from a television screen, a nine year old girl with messy brown hair and large glasses on her face was frowning deeply, as if personally offended by what she was witnessing. She was wearing a white lab coat over a green turtle neck, brown pants and brown shoes. She was standing within what looked like a science laboratory, with a variety of animal like creatures wandering about, playing, eating or sleeping wherever they decided to. She wasn't alone either; on a small window in the corner of the screen, a shadowed figure seemed to be shaking its head. "A crying shame, Professor Loud…"

"Isn't it though, Champion?" The young professor agreed with a frustrated sigh. "You would think a trainer with skill enough to accumulate eight gym badges would know about fairy types immunity to draconic assaults."

"Not to mention the complete lack of respect," The shadowy champion continued, just as Elenor called forward a Druddigon. "It seems to me there has been a significant drop in the skill level, manners and maturity of trainers entering into the Pokemon League, and especially attempting to defeat the Elite Four."

"Indeed. I've noticed that too," The brilliant girl said as she adjusted her glasses, turned off the pokemon match and brought up a series of charts and statistics. "In the last few years, there has been an alarming downward trend in all of these areas, which has also led to a sharp decline in viewership of Elite Four battles, as well as the end of season Pokemon League Tournaments."

"That is distressing...If interest in the league declines any further, it could be the end of the competitive pokemon league in the Micha region," The unknown figure in the window sighed sadly before continuing. "I don't suppose you have any theories as to how this has come about?"

"Naturally, though it is a suspicion I don't like thinking about," She answered grimly. "Namely, that some of the gym leaders may be going easy on challengers...or perhaps accepting bribes."

"I see what you mean...that is a terrible thought," The unseen champion admitted.

"Indeed, but how else do you explain how a trainer can complete the badge challenge, yet only has the knowledge and skill of a trainer lacking any badges? The attitudes, I cannot attest for, as there have been a great many trainers with plenty of talent, but horrible attitudes, but I digress," The brown haired genius said before a yellow and brown pokemon vaguely shaped like a human, save for a short tail, appeared out of seemingly nowhere, sitting down beside her and handing her a letter. "Ah. Thank you, Abra," She told the psi pokemon, patting it on the head. "Anyway, I admit I don't have any evidence this is the case however...at least, not yet."

"Safe to say you have a plan to obtain this evidence?"

"Presently, I do not. However, I will make it a-" The young professor said before she looked down at the letter in her hand, her eyes widening and a smile appearing on her face. "-On second thought, I think I may know someone, or someones, who may be able to assist in this matter."

"Great. Here's hoping that nothing comes of this," The Champ in shadows said to her. "Well, I hate to cut this conversation short, but I have a previous engagement to attend."

"Of course, Champion. The remainder of new business was simply about some ruffians causing a ruckus down in the Hazeltuckey area."

"Nothing out of the ordinary then," He said with a soft chuckle. "Anyway, see you around, Lisa." The chat window closed, leaving Lisa alone with her Abra and the other pokemon in the lab. She just smiled lightly as she opened the envelope she had been handed and removed the small greeting card within.

"You are cordially invited to the eleventh birthday party of Lola Loud and Lana Loud at 1216 Franklin Avenue, Royal Woods, Micha Region…" She read the letter aloud, her smile growing.

* * *

On the other side of Royal Woods, in the suburbs, a small multistory known to the community as the Loud House was abuzz with activity. The front of the house was decorated with pink and blue streamers, balloons, and a large banner that stated 'Happy Birthday Lola and Lana', as well as 'Congratulations on getting your trainer's license'. Unlike many other League regions in the world (which usually get trainers started at ten), children who turned eleven years old can apply for and take a test to earn their trainer licenses in Micha. With these permits, they would be legally considered Pokemon trainers, and would be granted permission to begin their pokemon journeys. Naturally, this was a big moment in every child's life growing up. Some children would even jump right into the test the very day of their birthday, and the twins were no exception. This meant the family could get the house ready for their party while they were away. Their parents, Lynn Sr and Rita, were hard at work in the kitchen, getting all the food cooked, decorated and ready for the two of them. This was a taller order than normal, as the twins each had different requests for what they wanted to eat (though both agreed they wanted a chocolate cake, so that was easy at least).

Fortunately, they weren't alone in this venture. The family pokemon (Growlithe, Purrloin, Pidove and a particularly small Dedenne) were helping where they could, as well as their only son, Lincoln Loud, and their youngest daughter, Lily. The now sixteen year old boy was carrying arm loads of refreshments to the living room, followed by six year old Lily, carrying the punch bowl in both arms. Lincoln had grown quite a lot since he was eleven; he was almost as tall as Lori was at seventeen. However, he was still kind of scrawny, though he never let that bother him. He still wore mostly his favorite orange polos, with different colors of pants every day. Lily was also growing like a weed, just a hair shorter than the twins were at her age. She was wearing a black shirt with a little pale purple blouse and a matching skirt, with black shoes. The large glass bowl was a little big for her, but goodness knows she was trying. She almost tripped and fell with it, but fortunately, a purple gloved hand caught her and helped stabilize her. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled up at the hand's owner, Luna. "Thanks Luna."

"No thanks necessary, little sis," She told her with a big smile in return, helping her bring the punch to the table. Her brown hair was a little more wild than it was a few years back, now hanging over one eye. She wore a purple leather jacket over a black muscle shirt, a knee length checked purple skirt, and shin high leather purple boots. Her body didn't change a lot from her teen days, but neither had her passion, energy and overall chill outlook on life.

"Some gentleman you are, Linc…" His more athletic, adult sister teased him with a smirk as she was setting up another banner over the fireplace mantle. Unlike her brother, she didn't really grow much taller with time, leaving her shorter than her little brother (which irritated her to no end). However, what she lacked in size, she made up for in muscle and attitude. She started to wear her hair down more than in the old days, but still wore her favorite jersey and shorts. "...letting such a little girl carry that big, heavy thing." The white haired teenager just looked at her with a bored, unamused expression, carrying trays of food in both hands and another tray on his head.

"Sorry. I haven't perfected the ability to grow extra limbs at will," He replied sarcastically.

"Aww, she was just ribbing you, bro," Luan told him, pausing in the act of inflating balloons to poke him in his ribs. Lincoln shuddered a bit, causing the trays to shake as he held back chuckles.

"Luan! Not the time!"

"Hahaha. Sorry, Linc," She responded with a giggle, returning to the balloons. Luan was still as big a joker as she was as a teen, but adult age had mellowed her somewhat. Time had probably been most kind to her (compared to her other teenaged sisters at the time), physically speaking. She was fairly tall, curvier than before, and with a bust size just below Lori's. She still wore her hair in a ponytail, but the ponytail extended all the way down to her hips. She still wore her usual outfit of a white button up blouse with a yellow skirt, and her old squirting flower. She gave him a big smile, revealing her braces were long gone. The one son sighed and set the trays down on the table. Still, he had to admit he was happy to see his sisters again. Most of them had already left on their own paths as pokemon trainers and, with their own jobs and lives, visited infrequently. In fact, Lori and Leni (the two oldest sisters of the eleven children) were unable to attend the party. However, they did send heartfelt wishes to the two birthday girls, as well as their gifts. About the only one who didn't leave to go on their adventure was Lincoln. It wasn't because he didn't have his license; he passed the test on his first try, like most of his family. However, even though it would have been just Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa (though she spent most of her time at her Pokemon Lab), and Lily to take care of, he knew they could be handfuls on their own. Add in that both their parents worked and Lincoln felt they would need an extra pair of hands. He didn't mind at all, though. He loved all of his sisters (headaches and all), and knew his help was appreciated by his folks. However, every now and again, the call of adventure would beseech him, and right now, it was calling like a siren song.

"So, bro…" Luna started, turning to look at Lincoln as she organized all of the twins' presents. "...you put any thought into striking off on your own?"

"Actually, you read my mind, Luna," He replied, gathering up the empty trays after he arranged the plates and bowls.

"It's about time," Lynn commented with a soft, somewhat harsh laugh. "I mean, it's been five years since you got your license."

"Lay off, Lynn," The raven haired Lucy said suddenly from nearby, startling all her sisters and her brother. She had been quietly sweeping up while they were talking, her favorite pokemon, Golbat, watching her from the banister. The now thirteen year old still followed the goth lifestyle and was a big fan of vampires, the occult, witchcraft, etc. However, she wasn't as much doom and gloom as she used to be. She still had black hair (which was longer now) which covered her eyes, but she wore different colored clothes too, even though they were all dark colors still. Today, she was wearing a blood red jacket over a midnight colored t shirt and jeans, with dark brown shoes, wearing a VOM pin and a Princess Pony pin over the right chest pocket. "You know he did it to help Mom and Dad."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But still, five years is kind of a long time, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get it, Lynn," He answered, somewhat exasperatedly. As annoyed as he was, he knew she was right. And with only one child left in the house (two in the rare times Lisa left the lab), it should be easier for his parents. Perhaps the time has come. He'd need to talk to his parents about this, the sooner the better. When he returned to the kitchen, trays in hand, he thought this would be the time. To his surprise, his parents looked to be having a conference of their own in the kitchen. He set the trays down on the counter, which got their attention. "Mom, Dad-"

"Lincoln, could we have a quick word with you, please?" His mother interrupted him, making him blink in surprise.

"Oh. Sure thing," He said, slightly taken aback.

"Son, we've been very grateful for your help for the last few years," The Loud patriarch started off, looking toward the white haired young man. "A few times, I don't think we would have managed without you being here...like during the field trip incident."

"Oh yeah...that was a disaster…" Lincoln responded, rubbing the back of his head as he remembered that time.

"You were an absolute lifesaver that day," Rita continued on. "And you've made things significantly easier for us; watching your little sisters, getting them to school, picking up the slack on the home chores, caring for them if they got sick. But…"

"...Lincoln, we think it's about time you go on your own trainer's journey," His father finally finished their train of thought. The one son just stood there, staring at the two of them. He could hardly believe it; it was like the stars aligned right in his favor.

"Now, Lincoln...it's not like we're forcing you to go if you don't want to-" Rita started to say.

"No, no. It's fine, Mom," He said, a smile coming to his face as he made a hold on gesture with his hands. "That was actually what I wanted to talk to you two about."

"It was?"

"Yeah. Great minds think alike, eh?" He added with a chuckle.

"Well, isn't that a coincidence?" Lynn Sr commented with a soft laugh as he started to load more food onto the trays his son returned. "Are you going to be travelling with Lola and Lana when you go?"

"I'll put that up to them." The white haired boy replied as he picked up the trays (only two this time as that was all that was left). "If they want me to go with them, I'd be more than happy to. Otherwise, I can go my own way." He returned to the living room with a big smile on his face, noticing there was a new face in the room; his super genius little sister had just teleported in alongside her Abra. "Hey, Lisa."

"Good day, elder brother, elder sisters, Lily," She said in salutation, a small smile on her face. "Good to see you on this momentous occasion. Have Lola and Lana returned yet?"

"It's rocking to see you too, Lees," Luna answered, walking over to give the brainiac a big hug. "And no. They should be back any minute though."

"Good. Good," She responded, hugging her musically inclined sister in return. Much like how Luan mellowed with age, Lisa had eased up a little as well. She didn't act as emotionless as she used to, though she was still working at being in touch with her emotions. Still, it was progress with her. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"That's them!" The family comedian said as she sprang over the table of refreshments and rushing over to the door past Lucy. She threw open the door, but instead of the twins, Clyde was standing on the other side. Much like his best friend, the african american boy was taller than he was a few years back. He had also forsaken his glasses in exchange for contact lenses. He was wearing a dark blue long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and had six pokeballs set into his belt. In his hand was an invitation.

"Hey everyone," He called to the assembled Louds, a smile on his face. His voice was a little deeper as well. "Hope I'm not late."

"Not at all, Clydesdale," Lynn responded with a small smile. "Come on in."

"Hey Clyde!" Lincoln called out, setting the trays down again and running over to give his friend a hug, followed by their best friend handshake. "It's been a long time."

"Way too long, buddy," His fellow nerd agreed with a smile. "What have you been up to?"

"Helping out around the house, mostly," The white haired teen admitted, though his mood didn't falter at all. "How about you?"

"Keeping busy," Clyde answered vaguely. "I got lucky I got the chance to attend the party."

"What exactly do you do, Clyde?" The ever curious Lily asked, her head tilted slightly. Lincoln had to admit he was quite curious too. He had never asked what it was that kept his best friend so busy for so long. The once bespectacled teen started to sweat slightly, but before anyone else could make any further inquiries, the door burst wide open. Lola and Lana had come charging into the room, screaming with excitement while waving their training permits in the air.

Lana was fortunate enough to be the taller of the twins, if only by about five inches. Her handyperson work gave her a better muscle structure than Lola as well. She was still a tomboy, wearing t shirts and jeans with boots. However, she was much cleaner than she used to be. She still wasn't afraid to get her hands (or any part of her) dirty still, but she didn't enjoy staying filthy as much as she used to. Her favorite hat was still on her head, over her messy blonde hair, put into two braids instead of pigtails. Lola, on the other hand, was more petite in size and body type, and still put a lot of emphasis in personal beauty. She wore a pink blouse with a sparkling pink skirt that hung below her shins, with white stockings and pink heels on her feet. Her clean, bright blonde hair hung down to her back. Lola didn't have her favorite tiara on her head, but that was because she saved that (as well as the rest of her jewelry) for when she appeared in pageants. Her temperment hasn't improved with age either and, though she looked dainty, anyone who knew her knew she was a force to be reckoned with, especially when she was angered. However, she looked positively ecstatic right now, just like her taller twin sister. "We passed! We passed!" They cheered in unison.

"Congratulations you two," Clyde said, beaming at the two of them as they danced around, hugging each of their siblings and their guest as they got near them. "And happy birthday."

"You took the words right out of our mouths, Clyde," Lynn Sr told him as he and Rita entered the room, each embracing the twins lovingly in turn. "We're so proud of you, girls."

"Well done, Elder Sisters," Lisa spoke up as soon as Lola and Lana were freed from their parents' hugs. "Today will start your grand journey into the world of Pokemon. Where you go from here, that will be entirely up to you. But that is a matter that can be discussed later. For right here and now, enjoy your birthday and the party which, unless I missed my guess, should be starting soon."

"It will. We just need to wait for the rest of the guests to arrive," Rita confirmed, looking up at the clock. "Go get ready, Lana, Lola."

"Yes Mom!" They shouted in unison, rushing upstairs to prepare for the party. As everyone else was getting the final preparations done, Lincoln tapped his super intelligent little sister on the shoulder.

"Hmmm? Is something on your mind, Lincoln?" She asked, turning to face him.

"Actually, I just wanted to ask you something," He responded, kneeling down to her level so he could talk quietly. "You're going to be sponsoring the twins on their journeys, right?"

"If they intend to take on the League challenge, then yes, though I will be providing them with their pokedex and their starter pokemon either way."

"...got room for one more?" Her ever helpful older brother asked with a bit of a smile. The science enthusiast blinked in surprise, then smiled at him.

"Finally going to start on your own path in the world of Pokemon, are you?" She asked in reply. Lincoln nodded to her. "That's fantastic. And of course. I would be more than happy to sponsor you as well."

"Thanks Lisa," He said, throwing his arms around the little mastermind. "But don't go telling anyone else just yet. This is Lana and Lola's day, after all."

"Of course, elder brother."

* * *

It didn't take long for the rest of the guests to arrive, as they were just waiting for Pop Pop, Myrtle, and Lana and Lola's friends. For their safety, Golbat and Abra were sent upstairs to play with Charles, Cliff, Geo and Walt, as the house was more congested than usual. With the return of the twins, the party really began. Lynn took control of the party games, with the music in Luna's capable hands, and Luan kept all the guests entertained with jests and magic. Along with Lynn Sr's amazing food, the party was a big hit for everyone, especially for the kids. Unfortunately, Clyde had to leave early, but not before he gave the twins their present from him: a portable camper kit (a device that creates and packs up a campsite complete with tents, sleeping bags, and a cooking pit at the push of a button). He bid everyone farewell, stepped outside and, after making sure no one was watching, summoned forth a red and gray hawk pokemon with a black tail and wing tips. The two shared a quick look before the bird pokemon took to the air, swooped back down and scooped up the young man, the two soaring off into the distance.

As the party started to wind down, it was time for the twins to open the rest of their presents. In addition to the usual toys and clothes they got, they also got a lot of practical gifts for their upcoming adventure; pokeball holders for belts or bandoliers, potions and other medicines, pokemon food, Pokemon clothes and accessories for Lola, a pokemon care guide for Lana, and, of course, a supply of pokeballs from their parents. The party finally came to an end as the sun started to set, with all the guests (outside of family) heading home and the Loud family starting to clean up. Before Lola and Lana could head upstairs to wind down and Lincoln could really start helping, Lisa called all three of them over to her and her psychic Pokemon assistant. "While I'm sure you both are quite tired after your party. and I realize there is quite a bit of work to do to clean up..." The young professor started, looking to her older sisters and only brother in turn. "...there is still much to accomplish before you can all begin, so I must ask for a little bit more of your time back at my laboratory."

"Will it take long, Lisa…?" Lola asked, yawning a little bit.

"I will endeavor to make it as fast as humanly possible, but it is quite important."

"Alright, if you're sure, Lisa," Lana responded with a shrug.

"Excellent. If you would all join hands with me and Abra, we can get started." As instructed, the blonde twins and Lincoln all held hands, with Lincoln taking the psi pokemon's hand in his free hand and Lana holding Lisa's free hand.

"Huh? Hey! Where do you think you're going, Lincoln!?" Lynn snapped, right before the five of them vanished into thin air. "This place is still a mess!"

* * *

In the blink of an eye, the four Louds and one pokemon appeared right in the center of Lisa's own pokemon lab. Lincoln had been here once or twice before to bring his little sister home, but this was a first for the twins. They both looked around with the endless curiosity of youth. In one corner of the lab, there was a small room completely surrounded by blast resistant glass with all of LIsa's chemistry equipment, with signs on the door warning unauthorized individuals and pokemon to keep out. Opposite that was a sprawling greenhouse area that was almost as big as their house. Inside were various types of plants, a few rare trees and herbs, rows upon rows of berries, and a couple plant type pokemon. Closest to the front door were several rows of bookshelves, surrounding a few small tables and chairs. Directly in front of them were a wide array of computer and electronic equipment: Several server banks, a machine Lincoln had seen before in a Pokemon Center when they had to bring Charles in when he got sick, an odd looking device that looked like a giant pokeball with two elbow pipes on either end of it, a laptop computer, and more computer monitors than even a family would need, to name a few. Each computer screen had something different on display: news from the Micha, Kanto, Galar and Hoenn regions, coverage of Pokemon League gym and Elite Four battles, and strings of data and numbers that only made sense to the mini mastermind herself.

"Quite impressive, isn't it?" Lisa commented with a proud smile. "I would offer to give you the tour, but I promised to make this quick, so here goes. As I said back at home, today is when the three of you will be forging your own destinies in the world of Pokemon-"

"Three of us?" The prissy twin interrupted, looking up at her older brother. "You mean...Lincoln's FINALLY going on on his own pokemon journey?" The white haired young man frowned a bit, mildly insulted at the emphasis she put on the word 'finally'.

"Is Linc gonna be travelling with us?" Lana asked, sounding kind of hopeful.

"If you want me to, sure.. It's up to you two." He responded, turning his attention to the tool savvy twin and gently patting her on her hat.

"...if I may continue?" A bothered nine year old said, her arms crossed in front of her. "...as in life, the path of a pokemon trainer isn't a single beaten path, but a winding, interconnected web of highways and byways. Whichever path you wish to take is purely your choice. You could take on the Pokemon League challenge, become a professional pokemon breeder, a gym specialist, a pokemon doctor, entertainer...the sky is literally the limit in this case."

"Well, I know what I'm going to do!" Lola exclaimed proudly, smiling broadly. "I am going to compete in the Pokemon Contest circuit!"

"Somehow, I had a feeling you would," Lisa responded without a trace of surprise on her voice, though she was inwardly pleased that her sister was sure of what she wanted to do in life so early.

"I'm...not really sure myself." Lana admitted, looking a little saddened by that. "Pokemon breeding sounds cool, but so does pokemon battling…"

"That's just fine, elder sister. After all, part of the reason for going on the adventure is to help find your purpose," The young girl with the large glasses explained, patting the tomboy twin on the shoulder to console her.

"She's right, Lana. I mean, I plan to try my hand at the League challenge, but I don't know if I'll become a professional competitive battler," The middle Loud said.

"Quite so. If I may recommend, why don't you partake in the challenge as well? Perhaps it could help you decide on your path, much like Lori." Lana tapped her finger against her upper lip as she pondered this suggestion for a few seconds.

"Well, why not?"

"Excellent." The young pokemon professor smiled as she turned her back to her siblings and walked over to the table holding her laptop. Sitting beside it was a trio of what looked like large, red smartphones. "But no matter what you choose to do, there are two things you will need. The first are these: your own personal pokemon encyclopedias, known as the pokedex," She scooped them all up and handed them out to each of her siblings. "Admittedly, these aren't the latest versions, which is enhanced by the introduction of a Rotom to its inner workings. However, these are still quite useful, for in addition to a wealth of pokemon information, they can also act as an advanced smartphone: it can make and receive phone calls, stream music and videos, perform video chat, etc."

"Cool!" Lana exclaimed, taking hold of the pokedex with an intrigued grin.

"Indeed. Please do not attempt to dismantle it, Lana,"

"Ah, you're no fun…"

"I am aware of that. Anyway, now all you are missing is the most important element: Your first pokemon,"

"Yes! This is the part I was waiting for," Lincoln said, his own excitement building along with his younger sisters'.

"Under normal circumstances, you would be offered a choice of a few basic starter pokemon," Lisa said to them as she strolled over to a large metal security door, tapping on a keypad beside it. "However, my lab has collected a wider variety of pokemon, all of which as new to the world as you three are to training pokemon," Once the code was inputted, the door slid open, revealing what looked like an armory full of pokeballs. One look inside was enough to make Lola, Lana and Lincoln's jaws drop in awe. They had never seen so many pokemon containment devices in one place before. "Go ahead and pick any one you like."


	2. Chapter 2: It Begins pt 2

_AN: The wait is over. It's time to see what starter Lincoln, Lola and Lana will choose. For those who haven't seen, the top three types voted by you all were: Normal with 6 votes, Fire with 3 votes and Ghost with 2. So, between those three, one pokemon was randomly selected. If the pokemon you wanted to see didn't get selected, don't despair. It's possible Lincoln, Lana, or Lola may catch them later on down the road. Enjoy the story and see you all at the end._

* * *

It Begins pt 2

"Woooooow," Lana said in complete awe as she looked at all the choices of Pokemon available to them, each pokeball with a little picture of the pokemon in question underneath it. "Where did you get all of these pokemon?"

"As a Pokemon Professor, I have sponsored a number of trainers seeking to take on the Pokemon League. A few of those said trainers had taken up competitive battling, which involves breeding pokemon to perfection. They've sent a few of these offspring to me in order to study and to pass on to new trainers," Lisa explained with a small smile, her eyes slowly scanning the many shelves. "Trainers such as yourselves."

"How can a person choose?" Lincoln asked, a little overwhelmed at all the pokeballs around him.

"Carefully, of course. It is, after all, your starter pokemon."

"...you're not helping," The older brother informed his younger sister in a deadpan tone.

"Oh! I like this one!" Lola said as she grabbed the ball over a picture of a poodle with its fur cut like a sunhat.

"Are you sure that is your selection, elder sister? If you open that ball, there is no turning back." The little Pokemon Professor warned her.

"I'm sure," The pageant princess said firmly, a big smile on her face. "Come on out, cutie." She tossed the pokeball in front of her, revealing a dog pokemon over half her size. It was covered in scruffy white fur, with a black snout ending in a blue nose sticking out from under it.

"Furfrou!" The poodle barked, wagging its tail at the sight of her.

"...it doesn't look like its picture at all…" Lola complained, her face falling, which also made the Furfrou look kind of sad too.

"That picture is of one of many styles in which the Poodle Pokemon can have." Lisa explained, gently patting the pupper on the head. "A simple visit to a beauty parlor can arrange your preferred style for your Furfrou, lest you wish to style it yourself."

"Oh? I could do that!?" Lola asked, her eyes getting all starry and a big grin returning to her face. Furfrou seemed encouraged by her smile, bounding up to start licking her face. "Hahahah! Hey, stop! You'll mess up my makeup!" She said while laughing, gently pushing the happy dog back. Lincoln, Lana and Lisa all chuckled softly at the sight, the white haired boy pointing his pokedex at the pokemon.

"Furfrou," The electronic encyclopedia said in a robotic voice. "The Poodle Pokemon. There was an era when aristocrats would compete to see who could trim their Furfrou's fur into the most exquisite style. Left alone, its fur will grow longer and longer, but it will only allow someone it trusts to cut it."

"Yeah, that sounds like the perfect pokemon for Lola," Her twin commented with a soft laugh.

"I wonder what gender it is," Lola said as she gently scrubbed her new pokemon behind the ears.

"I can assist you in that inquiry, Miss Lola," Lincoln's pokedex said, surprising everyone but Lisa. "In addition to recording and sharing information about pokemon scanned into my memory, I can reveal the gender of pokemon, show the various forms of pokemon with different forms, reveal the pokemon's ability and even ascertain if the pokemon possesses an egg move. In this particular case, your Furfrou is female and has the Fur Coat ability."

"Egg move?"

"It is a technique that can be passed down from a pokemon's parents, outside of its usual move pool," Lisa explained. "That is part of the breeding process."

"Cool. I hope my pokemon gets one," The young handywoman said as she started to really peruse the shelves. After a couple seconds, she scooped up a red and white ball sitting atop the picture of some kind of tadpole. "I pick...this one!" She tossed the ball in front of her and out came a little pokemon that was mostly a smiling face with a black head/body with a blue fin like tail and little dark gray and blue lumps on the sides of its face.

"Tympole!" The pokemon declared as it flopped on the ground.

"Awww. It's actually kind of cute," The prissy twin commented, kneeling down for a closer look.

"Yeah," The tomboy twin agreed as she picked the tadpole up and gave it a hug. "Hello there!"

"Tympole, the tadpole pokemon," The pokedex revealed after Lincoln turned its lens onto the pokemon. "By vibrating its cheeks, it emits sound waves imperceptible to humans and warns others of danger. This Tympole is Male with the Hydration ability. I am sorry to disappoint you, Miss Lana, but your pokemon does not have an egg move."

"Ah well. No pokemon's perfect...but he's close." Lana smiled as she pet her new partner like it were a cat, the tadpole making a humming noise almost as if he were purring. While his little sisters were fawning over their starting pokemon, Lincoln was scanning the many rows of pokeballs with a somewhat pensive look. He was having trouble picking his pokemon, as there were just so many to pick from; not just species, but types as well. It almost made his head spin. As he pointed out earlier, how could he choose? He drifted along the shelves, his finger tracing along the pictures set along under the pokeballs. He paused in front of a picture of what looked like a jellyfish of some kind. He thought about it for a moment, starting to reach for it, but stopping with his hand open halfway to it. As he thought about it, the pokemon containment device rolled forward slightly, right into his hand. He blinked in surprise and was about to put it back, but then he thought,

'Actually, perhaps this is a sign.' He thought to himself. '...nah, it's probably just a coincidence...but you know...why not?' He smiled as he removed the ball from the shelf and, to show he had made his final decision, tossed the ball in front of him. From it appeared a pink, round headed jellyfish creature with blue eyes surrounded by red and a pale pink kind of crown on its head. It had five tentacles which were lined with frills that looked like lace. On its face was a bright smile

"Eeeeeee!" Lola squeed enthusiastically, which made her Furfrou frown slightly, but it made Frillish smile even more. "She looks just like a princess!"

"Frillish, the floating pokemon." The pokedex explained after registering the pokemon's data. "They paralyze their prey with poison, then drag them down to their lair, five miles below the surface. Frillish is a female, and possesses the ability Cursed Body." Lincoln gulped a bit when he heard that as he looked to his starter, who was looking back at him.

"Uh...hello there."

"Frillish." The pokemon responded in a sort of regal, somewhat cute voice, holding a tentacle out and pointing toward the ground. Not able to understand pokemon, the one son just looked at the tentacle, then at her face. She was just staring expectantly at him. He had no idea what she expected from him. However, he had taken notice of what Lola said about her looking like a princess, so he thought about what she would want in this case. He shrugged lightly, gently took hold of the tentacle she was pointing with and kissed it as if it were her hand. Frillish giggled and pulled it away, shaking it a bit and shaking her head. "Frill Frillish Ish Frill."

"I think she said that she appreciates that, but that wasn't what she wanted you to do," Lana informed him.

"You can understand her?"

"Kinda," The animal lover of the trio answered. "I mean, I can better understand cats, dogs, reptiles, etc...aquatic pokemon are a little out of my range, but I can get a general idea." Once more, the pink jellyfish gestured to the ground. "i think she wants you to kneel." Frillish nodded in confirmation, waiting patiently for him to do so.

'...really?' Lincoln thought to himself. 'She's really expecting me to kneel?' He mulled it over for a second, finally deciding that if this pokemon was like Lola, upsetting her would be a BAD move...especially after what her pokedex entry stated. So, thinking this may be a move he would regret, knelt down on one knee before the water ghost pokemon. Frillish then went into a little speech that the white haired young man couldn't even begin to understand as she tapped his left shoulder, his right shoulder, then his left shoulder again. It felt like he was being knighted, which he had to admit felt kind of cool.

"Uh...she said a lot there, so I'm gonna try and summarize…" Lana said, scratching the back of her head in confusion. "If I'm understanding her right...she just made you her steward, her knight and...her steed?" Lincoln blinked, looking to his hat wearing sister, who just shrugged at him. She didn't seem too sure, so maybe it was a mistranslation. Frillish gently nudged his chin up, a sign she wanted him to rise again, to which he complied.

"Well, now that each of you have chosen your starting pokemon, there is just one last matter I wish to discuss. With Lana and Lincoln specifically, as they were the ones expressing interest in participating in the Pokemon League Gym Challenge." The one son and the animal lover turned their attention off their pokemon and onto their younger sister. "If I recall, Lincoln, you were a big fan of watching the League battles on television once upon a time, yes?

"Yeah...though the last two years, there was nothing really to watch…" Her brother admitted with a half hearted shrug. "It just got boring after a while. None of the challenging trainers stood a chance against the Elite Four. Don't think anyone has even reached the champion in a dog's age..."

"Indeed. It has been a growing concern with the Pokemon League. Trainers enter the Elite Four with all eight badges, yet battles on a level of someone who never battled in their life," Lisa continued, leading her siblings out of the pokeball storage area. As Lincoln started to walk, he felt something soft wrap around his midsection and on his shoulders, before feeling some weight briefly put onto his back. He looked back and noticed his Frillish was holding on like she was going for a piggyback ride, her arm tendrils on his shoulders and leg appendages around his middle. She just gave him a big smile, while he just sighed.

'Greeeeat...She really meant steed…' He thought glumly. '...well, at least she's still floating, so she isn't that heavy…but when we get home, we're going to need to set some guidelines.'

"Now, I personally have a theory as to where the problem could have come from...and it's centered around the Gym Challenge," The child professor continued, not really noticing

"What's that?" Lana asked, her head tilted.

"...as much as I don't like thinking of such a possibility, I suspect some of the gym leaders may be going easy on participants, or perhaps even accepting bribes for their badges," Lisa said solemnly, turning her back to her siblings she strode over to her electronics workbench. "Now, I'm not suspecting all of them, mind. Just a few whose fail/success ratio have changed drastically as of late, who had denied televising any matches, or have exhibited anything unusual of late. However, I lack any evidence, at least presently." She picked up a pair of pokeball shaped pins, looking them over for a moment before handing them to Lincoln and Lana. "These pins contain a hidden camera and listening device. Press the pokeball button on it and it will start recording straight into your Pokedex. Start it up before entering into a gym battle and, if any evidence of wrongdoing is found, we can take appropriate action."

"Hmmm. Alright, Lisa," Lincoln said as he pocketed the pin. "And if there is nothing there, at least I can review the footage of my battle to help improve my game."

"A fine idea, elder brother. Now, for obvious reasons, I request you keep this silent from not just the gym leaders, but all others. In the event I am mistaken, I wouldn't want to besmirch their reputations."

"Of course. If anyone catches us recording, we can just say what Linc said: we're recording to check for and fix mistakes." The hat wearing twin commented, which got an approving nod from their little sister.

"Excellent. I believe that is all we need to cover. I wish you three the best on your adventures," The little professor told them with a small smile. "Let us return home before it gets too late." The one brother and twins all nodded, as the twins were starting to feel tired again.

* * *

"...I seriously can't believe that guy, leaving us to take care of all the cleaning up ourselves…" Lynn grumbled as she tied off the last garbage bag and threw it over her shoulder. She had been complaining ever since Lincoln had left with Lola, Lana and Lisa, which was only a couple minutes ago. Complaining to the point where her siblings were getting irate with her.

"Would you ease up, sis?" Luna finally said, having just lugged her amps back into her own van outside.

"I'm sure Lisa has a reason for taking him with her." Lucy agreed, gently petting her Golbat since all the work was done.

"Yeah, but Linc could have waited until we were finished cleaning before he went…"

"Actually, no," Lisa said suddenly, having just appeared with her siblings and their pokemon in tow, courtesy of Abra. Lynn jumped and yelped in shock.

"Wha! Dang it, Lisa...It's bad enough when Lucy does that!" She snapped, but then she noticed three new pokemon: one standing by Lola, one in Lana's arms, and one clinging to Lincoln's back like a backpack.

"Whoa! You guys got your starters!" Luan exclaimed, the sisters present running over for a closer look. Luna and Lily were petting Furfrou, while Luan was patting Tympole on the head, and Lucy and Lynn were getting a closer look at Frillish.

"Such a cute doggy!~" Lily exclaimed as she scrubbed the poodle pokemon, who was loving the attention.

"Hee hee. Can't say I'm surprised at your selection, Lana," Luan commented, the tadpole pokemon making that purr like buzzing sound again.

"You got a ghost pokemon, Lincoln?" The goth teen inquired, sounding just a little jealous. "Lucky."

"Ghost?" Her brother and sporty older sister asked together.

"Doesn't look like a ghost to me." Lynn said, squinting her eyes as she stared at the princess jelly.

"Trust me. I know my ghosts." Lucy responded in her monotone. "Frillish is both a water and a ghost pokemon. And again, I say you're lucky."

"So…why's it on your back?"

"Long story…" Lincoln replied, hoping that would be the end of that...though he knew better than that.

"It's not that long a story." Lola interjected with a grin. "Linky's Frillish made him her steward and knight."

"Aww. That's so sweet." The youngest of the sisters said, beaming at the boy and his ghost pokemon.

"-and her steed." Lana added. The moment she said that, all his sisters in the room (Lucy and Lisa included) just burst out laughing. Being used to getting laughed at by his sisters by now, the one son just rolled his eyes and waited for them to get it out of their system.

"Hahahahahahaha! Ok! That made being one hand short for clean up worth it!" The family athlete said through her hysterics.

"Well, we can see Linc isn't horsing around with this decision." Luan quipped. "He's gonna pony up and go on his own adventure, and with his pokemon to back him up, he's gonna gallop all over the competition."

"...are you done?"

"I'm just getting warmed up."

"Then I'm just going to my room…" Lincoln said, not wishing to get swamped by more of Luan's puns. So up the stairs he went, Frillish waving to the hysterical sisters like royalty passing in a carriage.

* * *

Since most of the Loud children were out adventuring (a few having moved to new locations as well), Lincoln was able to move into Lynn and Lucy's old room. He didn't change much up just in case they came back to visit; in fact, the most he did was move his bed between their empty beds and put his posters up on the wall. Lola and Lana had the option for their own rooms as well, but they decided to stay in their old room together. No surprise, as they were twins and they had plenty of years to get it the way they liked it. The one son sighed as he passed the threshold to his room and paused by his bed. "Ok. Last stop. Everybody off." Frillish let him go without any argument, hovering over his mattress.

"Frill Rillish, Frill frill," She said to him, which he could only assume was her thanking him.

"You're welcome." His response seemed to please her, so it seemed he was right, or at least not far off. "Alright, Frillish...actually, we should pick a name for you, shouldn't we?" The white haired boy looked her over for a moment as he thought. He felt Lola had a point; she did look like a princess. "...how about Princess?" The floating pokemon smiled in a haughty manner, clearly approving. "Ok. Princess, I'm Lincoln, your new trainer...though you probably got that already." The Frillish gave a soft bow of the head to him, which he returned. She was being respectful; a good sign to the young man. "With that out of the way, I'd like us to come to a kind of understanding, alright? About this whole 'steed' thing." She tilted her round head a little, clearly curious what was the matter. "Now, if you want to ride on my back, I don't mind. I really don't, if you ask first. However, can we not make a habit of it, please? Or, at very least, don't call me your steed in that case?" The jellyfish pokemon just stared at him with a kind of blank look. Before he could ask for any kind of response from her, there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey Lincoln." Lana said as she and her twin entered the room, the former still carrying her little tadpole and the latter with her canine companion in tow. The handyperson sat down on Lynn's bed, while the pageant participant remained standing by the door. "You got a couple minutes?"

"For you two? Sure," He said, turning his attention away from his Frillish. "What's on your mind?"

"We know you're heading off on your adventure, Linky," Lola said, rubbing Furfrou on the head. "And Lana and I were talking over what you said at Lisa's lab; about travelling with us if we wanted you to."

"Well, we decided we did want you to," The tomboy continued, smiling at her brother. "It'd be cool to be off on our own, sure, but three heads are better than two, right?"

"Yeah, that's true," Lincoln responded with a nod, while thinking 'Especially if it's a more level head between two frequently arguing heads.'

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, we all set out together." Lana sprang up and ran over to her only brother with Lola, the three of them hugging one another. The three spent the last few hours before the twins' bedtime planning out their route and bonding with their pokemon. Lincoln didn't really need to go to bed that early (as he was old enough to set his own sleep schedule), but he was as eager as his sisters to get started. He got himself ready for bed around ten o'clock, changed into his pajamas in the bathroom, and when he returned to his bedroom, he found Lucy sitting on her old bed in her own pjs, Golbat hanging from the canopy as if standing guard.

"Getting an early night, Lincoln?" The goth girl inquired.

"Yeah. Want to get an early start tomorrow, so we can have as much time to cover as much ground as possible."

"Makes sense. Fangs and I will probably be heading out early tomorrow too," She explained, then gave a faint smile. "I wish you, Lana and Lola the best."

"Thanks, Lucy. How's your quest going?" Lincoln asked, as he didn't really know what Lucy was aiming for.

"Decently well. Still not sure where I'm going with it, but I've caught a few good pokemon, earned a few badges and learned quite a lot," The teenage macabre enthusiast explained. "I've given up the gym challenge though. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm just not the competitive type."

"Oh. Well, here's hoping you find your path soon, Luce," Her older brother said, giving her a hug.

"Thanks, Lincoln. Same to you," She replied, hugging him in return. Once the two separated, he turned to his bed and found Princess laying with her head on his pillow, her eyes closed, taking up the whole bed.

"Huh? Hey." The Frillish opened one eye and looked up at her trainer. "Princess, if you'd like a place to sleep, I can arrange something, but this is my bed," The one son said, irritated but trying to keep a calm, firm tone.

"Fri. Frill Illish," The sleepy jellyfish said, closing her eye again. Lincoln couldn't understand what she was saying, but suspected she wasn't planning on moving.

"Princess…" He started to say, but the water ghost pokemon opened both eyes to frown at him, as if he were the inconvenience here. "I'm going to ask nicely one more time."

"Frill Frillish!" She snapped at him. The white haired teen frowned, pulling her pokeball from behind him. Seeing it scared her, much to Lincoln's surprise. She quickly changed strategies, widening her eyes and looking sadly up at him.

"What? Oh good grief…" The middle son said, cringing as he experienced the puppy dog eyes from the adorable, pink pokemon. "Princess…" The aquatic pocket monster quivered her lip with a soft whine, melting his heart and his resolve, Lincoln lowering the pokeball with a sigh. "...can you at least move over so I can sleep too?" The young man asked in a defeated tone. Frillish calmed right down and scooched aside enough so he could fit on the bed too. He grabbed another pillow and laid down beside the pink monster, his back to her. "Lucy, do all girls know that trick naturally, or is it taught?"

"A little of both." She answered, trying her bed not to laugh at her brother again.

* * *

Before the sun rose the next day, Lincoln had woken up and sprang out of bed, grabbing what he needed for a shower and rushing out into the hall. Right in front of the bathroom door was Lana, tapping a foot as she was waiting herself. Seemed the twins had the same idea, and woke up even earlier than him. Fortunately, their own showers didn't take long, as they all wanted to be out the door and on their way ASAP. Within less than an hour, they had all gotten through the bathroom, got dressed and got their pokemon back in their compact homes...except for Lincoln. For some reason, she absolutely refused to return to her pokeball. She seemed utterly terrified of the idea. Not wishing to traumatize her, he agreed to let her stay outside the ball, so down to breakfast he went with his Frillish clinging to his back. Turns out, their parents had anticipated their wanting to get an early start and were already starting on making breakfast by the time Lincoln got his turn in the bathroom. They were about halfway through their waffles when the rest of the family had entered the dining room, having been woken up by the smell of their father's cooking. They probably would have been done before then, but Princess was being very picky about what berries she would eat, and it slowed Lincoln down significantly.

By the time he finished, the twins were already packing up everything they needed for the trip, meaning Lincoln had to rush in order to get ready in time. He quickly packed his clothes, his hidden stash of money, some extra snacks, a few essentials, and the pokeballs he had gotten on his eleventh birthday into his backpack, then grabbed his tent, sleeping bag, and a blanket and tied them to the top of his pack. By the time he got back downstairs, Lola and Lana were already there being hugged by their mother and their crying father, and their siblings standing behind them. "I...I told myself I wouldn't cry…" Lynn Sr sobbed as he held the blonde haired duo tightly.

"With all due respect, Pop, you said that every time one of us left on our pokemon journeys." Lynn commented, her arms crossed and smiling with pride at her little sisters.

"Yes, but this is the first time three baby birds are leaving the nest at once." Rita reminded her most active daughter, her own eyes welling with tears. "The nest...it's almost empty…"

"Aww, it'll be alright, Mom, Dad," Lana told them. She was dressed in her best overalls with a pair of hiking boots, a brand new red hat and a red shirt under the overalls. She had the pokeball pin stuck to one of the suspenders. Lola was wearing a deep pink long sleeve shirt and a matching knee length skirt, pale pink leggings and red sneakers. Over the shirt, she wore light, white windbreaker jacket. Lincoln, on the other hand, stuck to his classic outfit, but with a few changes; he wore a simple orange visor on his head, a band for holding pokeballs across his chest, and a black glove on his right hand. The pin Lisa had given him was pinned to the pocket of his orange polo. "We'll call frequently and visit whenever we can."

"Just...be careful out there, kids," Their father said after they both released the twins and pulled Lincoln into a strong embrace. "Don't fall in with the wrong crowd, mind your brother, eat all your vegetables, don't take any wooden pokeballs, always look both-"

"Daaaaaaad…" Lola whined, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Oh...sorry...got carried away there…" He said, looking somewhat sheepish.

"It's alright, Dad. We know you do that because you both care a lot," Lincoln said, giving his father a pat on the back after he had been freed from the double parental hug. "But you don't need to worry. With each of us watching each other's backs, we'll be just fine."

"Linc's right," The tool savvy twin confirmed with a nod. "And with our pokemon by our sides too, we could take whatever the world throws at us."

"We know you can," Rita told them, brushing the tears from her eyes. "But we can't help but worry. Just be careful and keep in touch, and we'll try to worry less."

"Sure thing, Mom, Dad," Lincoln replied. "We'll call you at least once a week, when possible."

"Thank you, Lincoln. Best of luck to you all."

"Show them what a Loud is made of, kids," Lynn Sr said, fighting back a fresh wave of tears of pride.

"Rock on, you crazy kids," Luna cheered to them, raising the horns to them.

"Spirits be with you, brother, sisters…" Lucy said in her monotone.

"Stay strong, Linc, Lola, Lana!" Lynn called, grinning as she raised her fist into the air.

"Show the world you're no joke." Luan encouraged them, waving as the three approached the front door.

"Good luck, big brother and big sisters!" Lily wished upon them, bouncing on her little feet.

"Go forth, siblings, and forge your destiny," Lisa said, a small smile on her face and her hands behind her back. "Whatever it may be."

"Bye everyone!" The trio of trainers called in return, waving back to their family as they all stepped outside, out into the bright sunlight of early morning in Royal Woods.

* * *

It took them about an hour to walk their way through town, headed down the path leading south. It was a lovely day, so no one minded the trip...except for Princess. The brightness of the sun was somewhat irritating to the princess jellyfish, leading her to complain in pokemon about twenty minutes in. Fortunately, Lincoln is the man with the plan, and had thought to pack a little umbrella among his gear. It wasn't much, but it kept the sun off the Frillish, and seemed to satisfy it. The moment they had left the city limit, they noticed the way ahead was practically crawling with wild pokemon; caterpillar like creatures crawling up and down trees to either side of the path, little purple rats running away from a portly little beaver into a patch of tall grass, and a flock of pigeon pokemon. to name a few. Lana's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she saw them all, a big grin on her face. "Well, here we are...the first leg of our journeys," Lincoln declared, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "First thing we should probably do is catch a few pokemon to bolster our-" He started to suggest, but Lana had already run off to do some pokemon hunting. "...nevermind. I see Lana is one step ahead of me," The white haired teen said with a soft chuckle. "How about you Lo?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I have Brittany. Do I really need anyone else for the contests?" The beauty centered sister asked with a shrug.

"I don't know, Lola. It couldn't hurt to have a variety of pokemon, even for pokemon contests," Her older brother pointed out to her. "I mean, not all contests are the same."

"They're not?"

"No. Contests are usually set into five categories: cute, beauty, clever, tough and cool." He explained, pulling up some contest info on his pokedex. "And the contest halls change which categories they're running each week...except the Master hall in Great Lakes CIty. They run them all, all the time, but I digress. Your Furfrou could handle a few of those contests, but not all of them."

"Hmmm...I guess you're right," The pageant princess replied after a moment to consider it. "It helps to have a variety of talents in pageants, so it couldn't hurt to have different pokemon with different talents."

"Exactly. Plus, the more experience Brittany gets in battle, the more techniques she can learn for the contests."

"Oh! Good point." With that, Lola ran off in search of a new pokemon of her own.

"Hehe. I guess it's just you and me, Princess, to find a new teammate."

* * *

"Oh man...where do I even begin?" Lana asked herself quietly as she crept through the forest, peeking up from bushes and shrubs to observe her new potential poke friends. "So many bugs and birds and rats and...which one do I catch?" She looked down at her bag of pokeballs, then up at the pokemon simply living life in front of her. "...all of them," She decided with a very excited grin, grabbing one of the pokemon catching devices as she rose from the bushes...and caused almost all the pokemon that heard and saw her to scatter. "...oops." The tomboy kind of slumped as she looked into the now empty clearing...only to find it wasn't entirely empty. Skittering toward a large oak tree was a dark gray worm like monster with three white hairs sticking out of its head. It had large dark yellow eyes with square, black pupils. It was desperately trying to flee, but wasn't fast enough to do so.

"Pokeball, go!" Lana yelled as she hurled the red and white spheroid at the escaping bug. The moment the ball came into contact with it, it sprang open and bathed the insect in red light before it disappeared into the ball. It snapped shut and fell to the ground, shaking and twitching. "Come on...come on…" The hat wearing twin muttered, her hands shaking from pure excitement. After a few seconds of squirming, the pokeball stopped and made a satisfying click. "YES!" She threw her arms up in celebration, scaring a flock of bird pokemon from the nearby trees. "My first catch!" Lana ran over to the pokeball, picked it up and nuzzled it with her cheek.

"Scatterbug." Her pokedex suddenly said, startling her.

"Wha! Huh? Oh, I forgot to scan the pokemon, didn't I?

"Yes, but not to worry, Miss Loud. I can gather data from the pokemon you catch as well. In fact, catching the pokemon allows you access to even more information regarding that pokemon," The electronic pokemon encyclopedia explained to her. "Back on topic: Scatterbug, the Scatterdust Pokemon. The powder that covers its body regulates its temperature, so it can live in any region or climate. When under attack from bird Pokémon, it spews a poisonous black powder that causes paralysis on contact."

"Cooool."

"Thank you, Miss Loud. The Scatterbug is Male, with the Shield Dust ability."

"Sweet. I'll name him Dusty." Lana declared, putting Scatterbug's pokeball on a notch on her belt.

"If I may suggest, Miss Loud, sending out your Tympole when capturing pokemon?" The Pokedex recommended to her.

"Oh! Right. Guess I got so excited I forgot," The more tomboyish of the twins admitted with a sheepish chuckle. "Come on out, Hops!" She called out as she released Tympole from his pokeball. It looked raring to go as it hopped up and down on the ground. "Alright, buddy. Let's go find us some new friends." The tadpole pokemon blubbed in agreement, just as a particularly chubby beaver pokemon plodded it's way into view. It stopped when it saw Lana and Lana saw it. Her 'target acquired' grin returned as Hops put his game face on, ready to fight.

* * *

While Lana was out catching everything she could find, Lola was being a little more particular. After all, she was looking for partners suitable for pokemon contests. Not just any pokemon would do. She strolled along the dirt path, aiming her pokedex at any pokemon she stumbled across. "Rattata...no," She grumbled, turning away from the little purple rat. "Pidgey...I think not. Wumple? HARD pass." The prissy twin's anger grew with each pokemon she rejected. "Bidoof. Another Rattata. More worms. ANOTHER Rattata…Ugggh!" She groaned in frustration and disgust. "Aren't there any cute or beautiful pokemon around here!?" She nearly screamed, sending most of the wild pokemon close to her running for cover. All went quiet as the short tempered Loud found herself alone on the path, Lola almost stomping along as she tried to find just the right pokemon.

About an hour into her tirade, she heard a rustling in the bushes to her right. She thought it was probably another rat, but decided to check it out anyway. She crept over to the shrubs and found, not only was it full of berries, but she was half right. On the other side was a rodent pokemon, but a yellow one with pointed ears lined with black fur and two tiny points sticking out at the tip, a little black tail, and little red cheeks. It was nibbling on a Razz Berry, not noticing the human intruder spying on it. Lola's eyes widened when she saw it, a twinkle returning to her eyes. "Oh my goodness, it's soooo cute!" She exclaimed as she pulled her pokedex on it.

"Pichu." The data recording program intoned, which got the little pokemon's attention. "The Tiny Mouse Pokemon. It has electric sacs in its cheeks. When they're fully charged, Pichu plays very energetically. It still can't use electricity very well. When surprised or excited, it discharges electricity unintentionally."

"Even it's name is adorable." Lola was about one step of swooning at it's cuteness when the baby pokemon dropped it's berry and got down on all fours, glaring at her.

"Pichu…" It growled warningly, sparks emitting from its cheeks...which actually made it look even cuter rather than threatening.

"Cute and with attitude. That settles it." The beauty obsessed twin stepped from the bushes as she tossed the pokeball with her Furfrou in it. "Go, Brittany!" The poodle pokemon appeared in a flash, barking at the Pichu before it. "Brittany, tackle the little darling...but not too hard." Brittany nodded before she charged at the baby mouse pokemon and rammed into it with her head, knocking it a couple inches back onto its front. The Pichu growled angrily, arcs of electricity shooting from its cheeks to it's ears...then its neck, body, tail and its little feet. In fact, its whole body was getting surrounded by electricity. "...uh, what's going on?" Lola asked, looking and sounding concerned.

"PiiiiiiiCHHHHUUUUUUUU!" The electric pokemon screamed as it ran right toward the stoic Furfrou, a trail of lightning in its wake. A few feet from the canine pokemon, it leapt into the air, flying toward her chest like an electricity encased missile. Its head slammed right into her, causing a bright flash and a massive discharge of electrical energy, forcing Lola to look away and cover her eyes with one arm.

"Brittany!" She cried out, fearing for her partner's safety. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have-huh?" She slowly lowered her arm and, to her amazement, her Furfrou looked just fine. Its chest fur was a little singed, but otherwise, nothing seemed wrong. "Brittany! You're ok!"

"That would most likely be attributed to Furfrou's fur coat." Lola's Pokedex explained. "A pokemon with the fur coat ability takes less damage from physical based attacks." Brittany barked and nodded to confirm the pokemon encyclopedia's information. As well as she looked, the Pichu looked a wreck, however. Its attack hurt the poor baby pokemon a lot more than it hurt its opponent, leaving it on its back with spinning eyes and a 'I regret everything' look.

"Well, it looks softened up enough to me. Here we go!" Lola tossed a pokeball at the dazed electric mouse. As it was in no condition to struggle, she caught it with ease. "Yes!"

"The recently captured Pichu is male, with the Static ability." The pokedex informed her once the pokemon's data was fully registered. "And it possesses the egg move Volt Tackle."

"Volt Tackle? Was that what that was?" She asked the multi purpose electronic device. "Hmmm. It was a really flashy attack...it'd be perfect for the contests!"

* * *

Much like Lola, Lincoln was also being particular about what he was going to catch next, but for different reasons; he was going for strategy than for appearance. "Let's see…" Lincoln thought out loud, his eyes scanning the surrounding environment. "Lucy said that Princess is a water ghost pokemon...as a water pokemon, it's weak to grass and electricity, so finding a pokemon that could cover at least one of those weaknesses would be a big help." As he quietly pondered and searched, the Frillish on his back was getting bored. Out here in the wild, there wasn't anyone to give her attention apart from the trainer she was clinging to.

"...Friiiillish…" She complained, brushing his cheek with one of her arm tentacles. The touch made his mouth twitch.

"Just a moment, Princess," He told her, as he was still trying to find a new pokemon partner. She didn't like that answer, so she tried to pinch his cheek instead. However, as the frill on the tendril was so soft and lacey, it tickled more than it hurt, making Lincoln chuckle a bit. "Hehehey, cut it out, Princess."

"Frill Frillish Fri…"

"Be patient. I'm trying to find you a friend," He explained to her. Princess huffed and swatted him across the nose. "Hehehe, Frillish, knock it off," He chuckled, pushing her tentacle away. "That tickles." The pink jellyfish blinked at him, then smirked, raising both arm tentacles threateningly. He couldn't see this, but he had a gut feeling he knew what was coming. He grabbed her pokeball and held it where she could see it. "Don't even think about it," he warned her firmly. She squeaked in reply and clung to his shoulders again, whimpering. The young man sighed as he put her containment device back on the bandolier. He hated having to resort to that; it made him feel bad for doing it. "...Princess, look. I'm sorry I went there…" He started, gently taking her off his back so he could speak to her face to face. "...but right now, we need to focus. I promise, after we find a pokemon we can add to our team, we can play, or talk, or whatever you'd like. Ok?" Princess crossed her arm tentacles and looked kind of pouty, but begrudgingly nodded. "Ok. Thank you. It shouldn't take that much longer."

"Lincoln!" The white haired young man and the pink pokemon turned their head to look at Lana running up to them, holding a stack of pokeballs in her arms. "I was catching some pokemon, and now my pokedex is saying I can only have six pokemon at a time…"

"Er...yes, Lana, it was part ot-"

"I know, I know," Lana interrupted him, looking sad. "...but I can't pick which one to send to this box thing they're talking about…"

"Wait...you already caught more than six pokemon!?" Lincoln exclaimed in surprise. His tool savvy sister nodded, showing him her pokedex. According to it, in addition to her starter, she had a Scatterbug, a Bidoof, a Rattata, a Pikachu, a Pidgey and a Pidove. It was asking if she wanted to keep the Pidove or send it to the box. "...you've been busy."

"Yeah, but like I said, I don't know who to swap, or if to swap...I don't really want to give anybody up, but I know I gotta…" Lana said sadly, looking at the list.

"Hmmm...well, you should only really need one flying pokemon on your team, so I guess it would depend on if you want Pidgey or Pidove." This didn't seem to help her situation, so Lincoln continued, "If you end up changing your mind, you could always swap them back at any Pokemon Center PC."

"Yeah, I know...but I still would have liked to have all my pokemon friends with me."

"I can understand that, Lana...but where would you keep all those pokeballs?" He pointed out to her.

"...good point. Alright. I guess I'll keep Pidgey for now," She finally decided, the pokeball with the Pidove glowing for a moment before it vanished from sight. Just then, another pigeon pokemon flew over and landed on the ground to their right, pecking the ground in search of seeds.

"Hmmm. A flying pokemon would work nicely to cover Princess' grass weakness, and being part normal would cover her ghost weakness too." Lincoln reasoned, pointing his pokedex at the bird pokemon.

"Pidove, the Tiny Pigeon pokemon. Each follows its trainer's orders as best they can, but they sometimes fail to comprehend complicated commands. These pokemon live in cities. They are accustomed to people. Flocks often gather in parks and plazas."

"Ok, Princess. You're up. Go get 'em!" Lincoln declared with confidence, pointing toward the Pidove that was paying him no attention. "Bubble attack!" He instructed. However, nothing happened. He slowly turned to the Frillish, who was hovering there with a defiant expression. "Uh...Princess. Bubble, please."

"Fri." She responded, turning away from him.

"What? Why not?" He asked, annoyed at her refusal to listen.

"I don't want to get my tentacles dirty." Lana translated, followed by a facepalm after she did.

"Don't want to get...you're just going to be spitting bubbles at a pigeon. Your tentacles won't be involved at all!" The comic book enthusiast informed her angrily. The Frillish still refused to obey. Lincoln was tempted to go for her pokeball again, but he thought she would start to really resent him if he kept doing that. He did have another idea, however. He just sighed and shrugged with a smirk. "I guess you don't care about becoming a queen." The princess jelly blinked and turned quickly to look at Lincoln.

"...Illish?"

"That's what you evolve into, right?" He inquired, taking out his pokedex and showing her an image of the pokemon she could evolve into. Her eyes got all wide and sparkly at the sight. "Of course, it'll take a lot of experience to get to that point, which would mean a lot of battling...but if you don't want to get your tentacles dirty-" Before he could finish that thought, Frillish floated right in front of the Pidove and blew a strew of bubbles from her mouth at the little bird. The bubbles sent the pigeon into a daze for a moment, but once it faded, it glared at the jellyfish pokemon. It took to the air and charged right at her. Princess screamed and held her arm tendrils in front of her face.

"Don't worry, Princess. You're a ghost pokemon." He called out to her, just as the pigeon flew right through her like she was made of nothing. The Frillish slowly looked back at the bird pokemon, who looked totally shell shocked that its attack failed, then blushed in embarrassment at having forgotten that. "Give it another bubble!" She returned her focus to the battle at his next order, sending another cluster of bubbles at the flying pokemon, knocking it to the ground. "And now...Pokeball, go!" The one son through one of his empty capture devices at the downed Pidove and, after a few seconds struggling, succeeded in catching it. "Yeah! That's the way to do it, Princess!" He cheered, giving the Frillish a big hug. She giggled in response, very pleased to be getting attention (and positive attention at that).

"Your Pidove is Male, with the ability Super Luck," His pokedex informed him after he collected his latest partner.

"Good to know. Thanks." He replied as he attached the pokeball to his bandolier. He wasn't sure if it would be a permanent part of the team, but it would certainly do for now. "Well, do you think you're ready for-" He started to ask Princess, but when he turned to look at her, she was already gone. She had floated off to pick a fight with a nearby Rattata, spitting bubbles at it. "Uh oh...Princess, wait!" He called out, chasing after his water ghost pokemon, Lana laughing as he tried to stop her from going into battles on her own.

* * *

"-and then, it ran right at my Brittany." Lola was relating the tale of the capture of her Pichu while she, her twin and her older brother were resting and having lunch. Lana had poured a few bowls of pokemon food for their pokemon, while Lincoln was once more having to deal with a picky Princess. Among them, their brother was the only one with cooking experience (though Lola could be a mean baker with the right tools), but he had nothing to cook for them. However, they had packed a few things they could eat just in case such an event arose: plenty of bread, some peanut butter, a plastic jar of grape jelly and strawberry jam, a couple pouches of tuna, a few cans of spiced meat, lots of bottled water, etc. On the menu that meal was peanut butter and jam for his sisters, as he knew they had a preference for strawberry jam. "It used a move called Volt Tackle on her. I was so worried...I thought my poor puppy had gotten seriously hurt, but it looked a lot worse than it actually was, and the Pichu wore itself out enough for me to catch it easily."

"I'm happy to hear you caught a pokemon you're happy with," Lincoln said to her with a smile, handing her a sandwich. Princess was looking curiously at the jar of jam as he made Lana's sandwich, holding a half eaten Rawst Berry in her hands.

"I'm happy with all my pokemon too. I even caught this pokemon all covered in leaves called Burmy," Lana interjected excitedly as she pet her Bidoof and Pidgey as they ate. "I had to send her to the box too, though."

"Have you come up with nicknames for them all?" Her brother asked, handing her her lunch.

"Not yet. But I'll figure something out soon enough."

"I need a name for my little darling as well." Lola piped in, looking to the Pichu who was eating one of the Razz Berries Lola had picked after their battle.

"Well, no need to rush. I'm sure you'll find the right names in time." Lincoln was about to bite into his own sandwich when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Princess pointing at the jar of jam. "Hmm? You want some strawberry jam?" She nodded to him. He frowned lightly as he thought, then pulled out his pokedex. "Pokedex, is human food harmful to Pokemon?"

"Hardly, in moderation. However, too much can make a pokemon unhealthy."

"Hmmm. I see." He looked to the jam jar, then to Princess. "I'll give you some when you finish your lunch." She nodded, but just as she was about to jam the whole berry into her mouth, he quickly added, "Slowly! You don't want to choke on it or get sick." The Frillish huffed, but did as she was told, slowly finishing her Rawst Berry. Satisfied, Lincoln smeared a healthy amount of jam onto a slice of bread and handed it to Princess. She looked it over for a few seconds, then took a small bite. Her eyes sprang wide open as she chewed, looking like she had just tasted paradise. She greedily wolfed down the slice of bread, getting jam all over her face in the process, and looked like she couldn't be happier about it. "Hehe. You got a little something on your face, Princess." Her trainer said, picking up a napkin and wiping her face clean, with Lola and Lana snickering in the background.

* * *

_AN: For the most part, I plan to be playing by the anime's rules when it comes to the Pokemon's moves (IE they aren't limited to only four moves they can learn naturally). However, there will be a limit to how many tm and tr moves a pokemon in this universe can learn. That will be limited to four._

_Main Characters current pokemon teams:_

_Lincoln_

_Frillish aka Princess  
Water Ghost  
Ability: Cursed Body  
_

_Pidove  
Normal Flying  
Ability: Super Luck_

_Lola_

_Furfrou aka Brittany_  
_Normal_  
_Ability: Fur Coat_

_Pichu_  
_Electric_  
_Ability: Static_  
_Egg Move: Volt Tackle_

_Lana_

_Tympole aka Hops_  
_Water_  
_Ability: Hydration_

_Scatterbug aka Dusty_  
_Bug  
__Ability: Shield Dust_

_(The others will not be accounted for until they are used)_

_Hope you all liked the story. Will probably work on the next chapter after a chapter of Gregory Loud Horror Story or LincolnJuice._


	3. Chapter 3: A friend in need

_AN: Originally, I was planning to have introduce a rival here as well, but decided to save that for the next chapter. No need to do it all at once. And, to answer your question Gamelover:_

_The idea for Lola's starter came from a picture I saw some time ago, with each of the Loud sisters paired with a pokemon. Lori with Rotom Fan, Leni with Pikachu, etc. Seeing Lola with a Furfrou just seemed too perfect for her._

_Lana was a fairly easy one too: pick a frog pokemon. It was a close battle between Crogunk and Tympole, but decided on Tympole in the end._

_As for wild pokemon, I'm mostly picking off the top of my head for what may be appropriate for the route they're on, with each main character having a preference on who they could catch: Lola would seek out cute/beautiful pokemon, with a special fondness for the fairy type, while Lana...she wants all the pokemon, but would favor reptile and amphibian pokemon, as well as poison, bug and steel pokemon for her team._

_As for Lincoln's, it was picked mostly by chance and vote. Took the top three pokemon types chosen in the poll, picked the most voted for pokemon in each type (as well as one or two of my own), and rolled dice until one got selected three times. Frillish won out, with second place going to Munchlax, and Buneary and Chimchar tying for third. Does that mean those pokemon will appear on his team later on...maybe, maybe not._

* * *

A friend in need

With lunch over, the Louds proceeded on their way along Route One, all pokemon back in their balls...except for one notable exception. Princess was still on Lincoln's back, holding up the umbrella he gave her to shade her from the sun. Lincoln had the map application open in his pokedex, acting as the guide, while Lana was focused on finding new pokemon. "Hmmm. If we keep going at this rate, we should hit Route 2 by nightfall," The one son said out loud. "And if we keep this pace up through there, we should reach Oakenville before the end of the week."

"...that long?" Lola complained with a whine to her voice.

"Sorry Lola, but unless one of us gets a driver's license or a flying pokemon big enough to carry us, we have to walk," Her big brother explained to her. "And the Micha region isn't exactly small. It'll take months for us to explore it all, over a year if we check out all locations off the beaten path," He continued, putting his dex away. "Not counting stops to challenge gyms, shop-"

"Ok! I get it! It's a long trip!" The pageant princess snapped before looking away with a huff.

"No one ever said the life of a trainer was an easy one," The white haired Loud said sagely, returning his focus to the path ahead. The beauty pageant participant grumbled under her breath in response, but didn't say anything directly to him.

"Nothing new…" Lana said, slightly upset by this revelation.

"We're still on Route One, Lana. Give it a little time." Lincoln told her, turning slightly to look at her. "We'll start seeing new pokemon on Route 2...or when the sun sets, whichever comes first."

"Sigh. Frill Illish Frillish Fri Frill…?" Princess complained, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! You're one to talk about whining!" The pokemon whisperer among them snapped back.

"Alright, settle down everyone." The sole son said, though he wasn't too concerned. He's been witness to (and even participated in) far too many sibling arguments to get bent out of shape about it. It rarely got serious these days. However, the verbal tussle did have an unforeseen consequence.

"You three!" A voice rang out. The two kids, one teen and pokemon turned quickly to see a smirk young man in a wide brimmed hat, white shirt and brown shorts. On his back was a butterfly net. "You're trainers, right? Let's battle!" He declared, pulling a pokeball from his net.

"Hmmm. What do you think, girls? You want to take a whack at this guy?" Lincoln asked his two younger sisters.

"I don't think so. I'm not big on battling," Lola said, turning her head away from the opposing trainer.

"I'll take him!" Lana said, grinning eagerly as she stepped forward, drawing her own pokeball. "Go, Nibbles!" She yelled as she summoned forth an especially plump Bidoof. Since he didn't have any data on the beaver pokemon, Lincoln turned his pokedex toward it.

"Bidoof, the Plump Mouse pokemon. It gnaws on logs and rocks to whittle down its front teeth. It nests alongside water. With nerves of steel, nothing can perturb it. It is more agile and active than it appears."

"Huh. It would have to be." Lincoln commented quietly as he looked at the Bidoof.

"Ha! You think that scares me!? Go, Burmy!" The bug catcher sent out a worm with a curly antennae surrounded by grass and leaves.

"Burmy, the bagworm pokemon. To shelter itself from cold, wintery winds, it covers itself with a cloak of twigs and leaves. If its cloak is broken in battle, it quickly remakes the cloak with materials nearby."

"Nibbles, attack with tackle!" Lana instructed, pointing toward the Burmy.

"Burmy, bug bite!" Her opponent ordered. Nibbles charged forward, moving with surprising speed, while the leaf covered bug sprang toward the chunky rodent. He slammed headlong into the Burmy, making its eyes bulge from the pain. However, it gave the bug pokemon a chance to put the bite on the Bidoof. Nibbles squeaked in pain, but kept right on running until he slammed it right into a tree.

"Yeah! Good work, partner!" The cap wearing twin complimented with a big smile. "Do it again!"

"Burmy, protect, now!" Bidoof leapt back from the Burmy to give himself room to ram into it again. However, before he could tackle it, a shimmering barrier surrounded the leaf cloaked bug. Nibbles bounced right off it, dealing no damage to the insect. However, the plump mouse pokemon was quite stubborn, and charged again. The bagworm attempted to throw a fresh shield up, but it was no good. His head crushed the opposing pokemon against the tree trunk. The impact was more than enough to make it faint.

"You did it, Nibbles!" Lana cheered, her Bidoof running over to her and jumping right into her arms for a hug.

"We're not done here yet!" The angered bug hunter snapped, hurling a new pokeball onto the field. "Go, Wurmple!" A caterpillar covered in sharp spikes, along with long pointed tail spikes and a horn appeared before it's trainer. Nibbles glared at it as he jumped from Lana's arms, ready to fight. "Wurmple, attack with Poison Sting!"

"Nibbles, you know what to do!" Bidoof surged forward, while the worm pokemon unleashed a storm of tiny needles from its tail spikes right at him. Unfortunately, the oversized rodent was peppered with the razor sharp spines. Even less fortunately, he started to look kind of green in the face.

"HA! Looks like your big fat rat is a little green behind the gills!" The opposing trainer taunted as Bidoof felt the effects of the poison.

"No! Nibbles, return!" The animal loving Loud cried out as she recalled her sickened pokemon, knowing that the poison wouldn't hurt her poor pokemon while it was inside. Now she was steamed. No one does that to her precious monsters and gets away with it. "Pidgey, go!" A small, brown and tan bird appeared in the air, flapping its wings and leering down at the Wurmple. The bug catcher felt a sweat drop trickle down the back of his head as he looked nervously up at the bird. "Pidgey, swat that bug with Gust!"

"Wurmple, Poison Sting!" The spiky caterpillar launched a volley of poison stings at the flying bird, but the attack was interrupted by the wind kicked up by its wings. The needles were thrown to the sides, sticking to the trunks of the nearby trees, as the Wurmple was picked up off the ground from the force of the wind. The opposing pokemon was thrown for a loop, colliding back first into its own trainer, which nearly knocked him over.

"Alright! Who's next!?" Lana asked aggressively.

"...there is no one else...that was my last pokemon…" The bug catcher grumbled, pulling a small wad of cash and tossing it at her feet.

"...huh? What's that for?" She asked, momentarily snapping out of her anger.

"It's prize money, Lana." Her older brother explained. "In a pokemon battle, the victor gains a little bit of prize money from their opponent. It's considered good form."

"And I hope both you and that chicken of yours choke on it…" The foul tempered bug trainer grumbled as he trudged off toward town.

"That, however, is not good form." Lincoln deadpanned, shaking his head as the poor sport departed. Meanwhile, his tomboyish little sister resummoned her Bidoof long enough to spray it down with some antidote.

"There we go...feeling better there, Nibbles?" The chubby rodent nodded with a low squeak. "Great," Lana responded with a cheery smile.

"We can win money from battles?" Lola inquired in surprise before smirking. "...maybe I should rethink my thoughts on battling."

"Couldn't hurt, Lola. Especially since we don't know how much money you could earn through contests."

"Besides, it can only help your pokemon to get stronger." Her twin pointed out as she recalled her two pokemon. Lola started to seriously consider this as they all continued on their way. The trip was fairly peaceful, save for Princess occasionally leaping from Lincoln's back to wipe out a spotted wild pokemon.

"Geez, what have you got against Rattatas?" Lola asked her with a hidden snicker after she bubbled her tenth rat pokemon into fainting in a row.

"I think she's trying to rush her evolution." Her trainer answered, rolling his eyes a bit as the tired jellyfish returned to his back. "There's no need to rush it, Princess. It will happen when it happens, but exhausting yourself every couple minutes won't make it happen that much faster." The pink pokemon just mumbled something in pokemon language, still clinging to her trainer. Just then-

"Look!" Lana exclaimed excitedly, pointing off to a dense section of woods up ahead where the path curved to the left. Among the roughage and trees was an armored, bipedal insect with two large, thorned pincers on its head. Its chitin was a light brown, its arms were kind of spindly, and its large mouth had many square teeth, and was almost as tall as they were. It was looking around as if checking to see if it was followed.

"Pinsir, the StagBeetle Pokemon." Lincoln's pokedex informed them all as he scanned the cautious bug. "Pinsir has a pair of massive horns. Protruding from the surface of these horns are thorns. These thorns are driven deeply into the foe's body when the pincer closes, making it tough for the foe to escape."

"Cool...I wa-" She started to say, reaching for her pokeballs, but paused for a moment, looking back at her brother and sister. "...er, sorry. Did either of you want a chance?"

"Ugh. No way." Lola replied with disgust.

"Nope. It's all yours, Lana." Her more chill brother answered.

"Sweet! Go, Hops!" Lana declared, summoning forth her Tympole and alerting the Pinsir to her presence. "Use Supersonic!" She instructed, the tadpole emitting a powerful burst of sound energy from his cheeks at the Pinsir. The bug simply ducked, the shockwave hitting a tan, vaguely human like pokemon with pink shoulder bands and a pink stripe along either side and holding a large, square log in both hands like a club. The suddenly appearing pokemon was thrown off its attempted attack and thrown into confusion as it slammed face first into the ground. The stag beetle snickered at the sight before it scurried off. "What the!?"

"Hey! What'd you do that for!?" An angry female voice sounded from the woods.

"I could ask you the same thing!" The tomboy twin yelled back. While Lana was far from as much of a force of nature her sister was when angered, she was still a tough cookie in any circumstance. She stormed her way over to the edge of the woodland just as a young lady with light brown hair and an extra long braided ponytail came into view. She wore a yellow tank top with short blue shorts, a pokeball belt around her waist, knee high socks and brown sneakers. Lincoln looked at her and frowned lightly. He felt like he knew this girl, but wasn't sure from where.

"I was trying to catch that Pinsir before you ambushed my Timburr!"

"You were what!? I saw it first!"

"No way! I've been tracking him from clear over in Larchton!" The brown haired girl screamed at the tool savvy twin while her pokemon just sat on the ground, kind of reeling from the confusion. Hearing the name Larchton sparked a memory in Lincoln.

"Jordan?" He asked in surprise. "Girl Jordan?" The girl from the woods paused in her verbal argument with Lana, turning her attention to the one who called her name. She stared right at the white haired young man for a moment or two before she responded.

"Lincoln?" The twins blinked and looked between the two as Lincoln dashed over to the forest's edge with a small smile, a similar smile appearing on Jordan's face.

"I can't believe it," Lincoln said with a chuckle, one hand set on his hip, the other on his chin as he looked her up and down. "It's been four years since I last saw you. How the heck are you?"

"Oh, doing well enough." She replied happily, her eyes scanning him as well. "And judging by the look of you, you are too."

"Wait...you know her?" Lana and Lola asked in unison, kind of lost.

"Yeah. She was a good friend of mine from back in school," The white haired teen answered. "She had moved to Larchton a few years back, though I never knew why..."

"Oh, uh...my Dad got a new job down there," Girl Jordan replied with a nervous sort of grin. "You know how it is: Better opportunity, so everyone's gotta go."

"Not really, since that never happened to us, but I do get it," Her long time friend answered with a shrug and a smile. "Anyway, girls, my friend, Jordan, though we always called her Girl Jordan in school. Jordan, my sisters, Lola and Lana." The blonde twins looked to one another for a moment as they started to remember; they had heard their brother talking about this Girl Jordan before. It was mostly gripes about dodgeball, but he had spoken highly of her before too. It was clear they were friendly; maybe not quite as close as Lincoln and Ronnie Anne had been before she moved, but still close.

"A pleasure to meet you, Jordan," Lola said with a small curtesy.

"Hey there. Sorry about sass," Lana said, rubbing the back of her head. "I promise I wasn't aiming for your pokemon…"

"...ah, don't worry about it. It was just an accident, and Timburr was just a little confused by it." Jordan responded, looking to her pokemon as he got back to his feet. He looked right as rain, if salty about the whole thing.

"So, you say you've been hunting that pokemon since Larchton?" Lincoln inquired, looking in the direction Pinsir had fled.

"Yeah. He's kind of an infamous figure back home. A real troublemaker, but one tough pokemon. I thought he'd make a great addition to my team, but it's been cat and mouse for nearly a week, with Pinsir somehow always being one step ahead," Jordan told him, looking a combination of annoyed and dejected by it.

"Well, maybe I can help you out," The one son suggested, which made the twins grin behind his back. "I mean, with the two of us, we should be able to track and trap him pretty easily."

"Make that three," Lana interjected, rolling up her sleeves. "Even if I can't catch it myself, I wouldn't mind tangling with it. Heck, I'll wrestle it myself if need be. Can't be that different from wrestling Krokoroks."

"...she seriously wrestles Krokoroks?" Girl Jordan asked in absolute shock.

"For fun," Lincoln answered, chuckling at her reaction. "Not so much these days, but back when she was six, she was reigning champ in Royal Woods."

"Six!?"

"Make that four. I don't fancy myself as much of a tracker or hunter, but a fourth pair of eyes should help." Lola offered the shell shocked Jordan, snapping her out of her daze.

"Really? I wouldn't want to impose on you all."

"It's fine, Jordan," Lana informed her, trying to put an arm around her shoulders even though Jordan was a bit taller than her. "This is gonna be fun." She then turned to look at her twin. "Hey, you think your Furfrou could help by picking up its scent?" Lola looked positively aghast for a moment, but then she remembered that she hadn't groomed her poodle pokemon yet. She wouldn't have to worry about messing up her fur. Besides, if Brittany can learn to track, just imagine how easy finding pokemon would be. But would she go for it? Only one way to find out in Lola's mind as she let her pokemon out of her ball.

"Brittany, do you think you can get the scent of that Pinsir?" She inquired. The furfrou tilted her head a bit, then leaned in to the spot where the bug pokemon stood. She took a few sniffs, moved forward a little, and whiffed again before she barked excitedly, wagging her tail. "She's got it! Follow that bug!" Lola instructed as she and Lana ran off after Brittany, with Lincoln, Jordan, and Timburr following them a couple feet behind.

"So...I have to ask, Lincoln…" Jordan started to ask, looking at the pink jellyfish on his back. "...why is your pokemon riding on your back?"

"Because if she rode on my head, we'd both look silly," The white haired teen responded in a deadpan manner, making Jordan burst out giggling. Even Princess chortled a little at that, covering her mouth with a tentacle. "But seriously, she just started doing it not long after we met. It's a bit annoying, but it's not that big an inconvenience." The Frillish smiled at him and pat him on the head, saying something that neither trainer could understand. "But anyway, how has your journey been going? I bet you have a ton of badges by now," He asked, giving her a smile. The light brunette teen flinched a bit and looked back to the front.

"Oh...uh...I actually kind of had to start over." The young lady told him, her face sweating a little.

"Start over?" Lincoln asked in utter surprise. He didn't know that was a possibility.

"Yeah. Kind of hit a figurative brick wall at one point, so I thought it would be best to start fresh to try and figure out what went wrong," She continued, a quaver to her voice. The one son just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. That didn't make a lot of sense to him. However, before he could ask any further, she suddenly looked back at him. "How about you? What has the 'Man with the Plan' been up to? Giving your little sisters a little of your expert advice?" She inquired with a smirk.

"Huh? Oh, actually, we all only just started today," He admitted to her, which brought a look of surprise to her face.

"Just started? But...you've been a trainer for years…"

"Yes, but I couldn't leave right then and there," He explained. "You've seen how big my family is. Even with my older sisters having gone on their own journeys, there were still an awful lot of us for two parents working full time to handle, so I decided to wait and help take care of my little sisters."

"Aww. That's a sweet thing to do. And now you're even accompanying them on their quests."

"Hehe. Yeah, and I'll continue to do so until they decide they'd rather go on their own," The middle son continued with a small smile.

"So, Lana...what do you think?" The beauty obsessed sister inquired in a low voice to her twin with a smirk.

"I think I'd start with a chokehold, but I don't think it even has a neck."

"I meant about-" Lola was about to snap at her, but Lana just laughed and cut her off.

"Yeah, I know. I was just messing with you. Anyway, I like her so far. She's got fight in her, and if she's willing to go this far for a pokemon, she's clearly determined." Lola seemed to calm down a little after hearing that, though she was very irked at being played for a fool, even on such a minor level.

"And she is kind of good looking," The pageant princess added quietly, glancing back at them. "Not exactly fashion forward, but still nice looking. They're also really good friends already. That alone is very promising."

"You think it's possible they could…" She trailed off just in case Lincoln may have heard them, but she traced a heart in midair with a grin.

"Ooooh, I hope so," The Loud in pink replied with a giggle. "I mean, I would have liked Linky to date Ronnie Anne as much as the next gal...well, unless the other gal is Lori…" Another flurry of giggles escaped from both twins. "...but she's so far away, and he needs a lady who can be by his side."

"Yeah. Especially after she went so quiet," Lana commented, her face falling a bit. However, this wave of blue was cast off pretty quick as she returned her view to the path in front of them. "So, what do you think we should do?"

"For now, let's keep it on the down low," Lola answered, getting a very surprised 'huh?' from her sister. "Oh, don't worry. We're going to help. Just not yet. Let the seeds be planted first; we'll be there to water them later." She elaborated with a big grin. 'Though that won't be long, giving how Lincoln gallantly offered to help hunt this monster bug.' She thought to herself.

* * *

Over an hour had passed since they had started their hunt for this Pinsir and, though they found some tracks that Brittany was now following, they still didn't find the monster stag beetle. Lincoln was beginning to see why Girl Jordan was having so much trouble catching this pokemon; it was quick and crafty. However, he was confident that they could find it together. They didn't find any new pokemon in their journey well off the beaten path (much to Lana's chagrin), but they did find a great many berry bushes. Each of them picked as many Oran, Pecha, Rawst and Nanab berries as they could as they pursued the bug. In the meantime, their quarry was keeping tabs on them as well, spying on them from a distance and chuckling as it kept leading them on this merry chase. It was thoroughly enjoying this game, which is how it perceived this whole outing. However, it wasn't happy about one thing: the Furfrou. The Pinsir saw this as cheating, and it wasn't going to let it stand. The human sized insect glared at the poodle leading the way from the tree branches, planning its move. Brittany came to a sudden stop under the tree where it was camping out, looking around in confusion. "What's up, Brittany?" Her trainer asked in concern.

"I think she lost the scent." Lana suggested. Before anyone could decide what to do next, the Pinsir fell from the tree branches, landing right in front of the Furfrou. The bug pokemon grabbed the shocked canine with its thorny horns and hurled her right into the nearest oak tree. The poor pup yelped in pain before falling to the grassy ground.

"Brittany!" Lola cried out before literal fire came to her eyes. "You big bully! Go, Pichu!" She hurled Pichu's ball toward the ground, summoning forth the baby electric mouse. It was then she realized the strategic error in her move: the Pinsir was MUCH bigger than her pokemon. The stag beetle just took one look at the little pokemon and just started laughing. This angered the spunky little sparker as re unleashed a Thundershock upon his opponent. The chitinous, horned monster hardly looked phased at all. "Gulp...perhaps I should have caught another pokemon or two…" The prissy twin said, feeling somewhat scared now.

"Timburr, Pound attack!" Jordan instructed loudly.

"Timburr!" Her pokemon replied as he leapt into the air and swung his log like a club at the Pinsir. The powerful fighting pokemon managed to get a solid hit on its head. However, this gave the stag beetle the opening to snap its pincers shut on the log and start shaking the little humanoid pokemon like a ragdoll.

"Piiiii….." The baby Pikachu growled as he gathered electricity around his body just like last time, before barreling right at the Pinsir. "...CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" He landed a solid Volt Tackle right into its midsection. The bug pokemon was more surprised than hurt, but it was enough to make it drop Timburr and stagger back. By this point, Lola's Furfrou had gotten back on her paws, and she was positively irate. Seeing the odds were very much against it right now, Pinsir sprang back up to the branches before leaping from tree to tree to escape them.

"Oh no you don't!" Lincoln called out. "Go, Pidove!"

"Go, Pidgey!" Lana exclaimed, the two of them summoning their bird pokemon.

"Follow it from the sky! Call out to give away its position." The one son instructed, pointing upward. Pidgey and Pidove nodded as they soared through the forest canopy, their sharp eyes scanning the woods. The former spotted the swiftly moving monster insect and flew off it. The latter, however, just kinda flew off in another direction. Pidgey chirped down toward the group on the ground, the pokemon trainers following the sound of its calls.

"Time for our secret weapon, Timburr." Girl Jordan told her heavy lifting partner. "If it's not coming down, we'll send our attacks up to it. Use Rock Throw!" The log carrying pokemon nodded, tossing the hunk of wood to the other arm and then grabbing rocks from the ground to hurl up at the trees. This made Pinsir's attempted escape much more difficult; it had a pack of trainers chasing it from the ground, with one of their pokemon throwing rocks, and one bird pokemon stalking from above. However, the beetle pokemon had a plan. It stopped in a mature oak tree and waited for the humans and pokemon to huddle up underneath. Once they were gathered, it started shaking the branches, sending a shower of acorns down on them.

"Ack! Ouch! Ow! I think I see where you were having trouble with this one!" Lincoln told Girl Jordan as he tried to cover his head to avoid getting pelted. Princess simply moved her umbrella to cover her own noggin.

"Ow! Ow! You sneaky little…" Jordan growled as the Pinsir laughed at all of them. Lola covered her head as she leaned over to keep Pichu from getting nuts dropped on it, while Brittany attempted to shield her. With her hat on, however, Lana wasn't as affected, but she still needed to protect her eyes from the rain of acorns. The stag beetle shook up the tree for a few more seconds before it attempted to jump to another branch. However, when it leapt, it ran right into Lincoln's Pidove, who was diving to get at the acorns. The startled pigeon went into a panic, flapping his wings right in the insect pokemon's face. This threw the big bad bug off its jump, squirming a bit before pushing the Pidove away and slamming face first into an oak trunk. The Pinsir fell back from the tree to the ground, a dazed look on its face. Meanwhile, the Pidove had landed nearby, pecking at the fallen acorns.

"...I should scold Pidove...but that worked." Lincoln commented as he looked at the bug, who was shaking off its disorientation. "Jordan, it's all yours." She nodded, grabbing one of her empty pokeballs and tossing it at the Pinsir. The pokeball pulled the bug pokemon in and it started to shake wildly, like it was fighting like mad on the inside. Lola shrank back from the ball, her Furfrou standing ready to strike if need be. Lincoln and Jordan were watching with bated breath, while Lana had her fingers crossed. The only one there who didn't seem to care was the oblivious pigeon pokemon. The pokeball bounced a few times, then it went completely still, making the telltale 'ding' of a successful capture. Silence filled the area for a few seconds before the three Louds and Jordan all cheered.

"We caught it! We caught it!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Congratulations, Jordan," Lincoln told her, giving her a pat on the back before she gave her Timburr a big hug. His pageant pro sister sighed with relief, petting her pokemon for a job well done, while the handy twin called her Pidgey to her arm to give it a tasty Oran berry. As they were celebrating, the ball holding her recently trapped pokemon suddenly popped open, a scowling Pinsir leering at all of them. That brought the celebration to a screeching halt. Before anyone could do anything at all, Pinsir held a spindly hand out to Jordan and made a sort of clicking sound.

"She said, well played," Lana translated, looking back to the girl with the light brown ponytail.

"Huh? Oh, uh...thanks. You too," She replied nervously, shaking her hand. "...but, uh...why do you look so mad?"

"She said she hates losing…" The animal loving sister explained after listening to the bug pokemon's chattering. "...but it was a really fun run. She knew it had to happen sometime, and she's glad it was to someone who doesn't know when to quit." Jordan wasn't quite sure whether that was a compliment or not, but decided to take it as such before recalling the Pinsir, and then her Timburr. Once all the pokemon (save for Princess) were safely tucked away in their portable homes, the four started to head back to Route One.

"Thanks so much for the help, everyone. That chase probably would have lasted another week or so without help," Girl Jordan said, smiling appreciatively at the white haired young man and the twins.

"Glad to help," Lincoln told her in reply. "So, what are you going to do next?"

"Well, I'm probably going to head to Glenvale and take on the gym."

"Really? So are we!" Lola chirped with a big smile. "Well, Lana and Lincoln are, but after all the walking it'll take to get there, I'd be happy for a rest in an actual town, but I digress. Why don't you come with us?" Lana turned to look at her twin. She liked the idea, but she knew Lola said they wouldn't get involved just yet. The prissy twin whispered through the side of her mouth. "Just a friendly suggestion." Jordan hummed to herself for a moment as she thought about it, glancing over at Lincoln, who had looked back at her.

"What do you think, Lincoln?"

"It's fine by me. It may slow us down a little in each town as three of us need to go through the gym, but there's no rush. There's no time limit to complete the gym challenge," Lincoln replied without hesitation. "Besides, we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Hehe. Yeah. Years worth," Jordan said cheerfully. "Well, it sounds good to me. At least for a little while. We'll see what happens after once we get to Glenvale."

"Then it's settled!" The beauty centered Loud said, as if that made it final.

"So...keeping it on the down low, huh?" Lana whispered to her with a big smirk as they all continued on their way.

"It's just a little nudge in the right direction…" Lola replied with a sheepish shrug.

"I wasn't complaining. It was a good idea."

"Hehe. Right, but no more after this. At least, not yet." The twins nodded in sync before looking over at the older teens in front of them, Girl Jordan looking back at them.

"What do you think they're whispering about?" She quietly asked Lincoln, curiosity really tugging at her mind.

"Could be anything," The middle son answered, looking back at the two kids, who suddenly looked away, playing innocent. "...though I can probably make a good guess." He laughed softly, turning to look at Jordan. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"If you say so. Anyway, I bet you have some stories to tell since I moved," She said with a soft smile.

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe," He responded, laughing a little more before he started in on a story about how Charles had gotten into a fight with a Stunky in their backyard.

* * *

When they returned to Route One, the sun was starting to set, which meant some of the nocturnal pokemon were starting to come out, much to Lana's delight. Before it got too dark for them to keep going, Lana had managed to catch a HootHoot (which she boxed), and a Zubat (which she replaced the Rattata in her team with). However, when the sun set completely and they could hardly see their hands in front of their faces, it was time to set up camp for the night. Thanks to Clyde's portable campsite, they were able to set up quickly, with only needing to set up their four tents and get a fire going. Lincoln was working on a pot of curry his father had shown him how to make, using some of the berries they collected so their pokemon could enjoy it as well. Lana was playing with her six pokemon and Timburr, while Lola was petting her Pichu and brushing her Furfrou and talking to Jordan, with Pinsir over by the cooking pot with Lincoln, peeking in to see what was cooking. "You're planning to enter Pokemon Contests?" Royal Woods' dodgeball champion inquired of the little pageant princess.

"Mmhmm. It seemed like a natural move to make, with my experience in pageants." Lola explained, looking just a little pompous. This expression quickly faded to a sadder look. "...though I realize now I need to find more suitable pokemon...not just for the contests, but for battling too. Pichu and Brittany could have been seriously hurt..." Seeing her trainer look so down really upset Brittany, so she turned and gently nuzzled Lola, whining a bit.

"Hehe. Looks like your Furfrou doesn't like seeing a sad Lola." The gal with the light brown hair commented with a giggle, followed by Lola as the poodle pokemon started licking her again.

"Ok! Ok! I'm not sad anymore. Honest." She said through her giggles, gently pushing the pupper back. "What an affectionate pokemon."

"Well, she is a dog, and a good dog at that."

"No argument here." Lola agreed, petting the extremely happy Furfrou before picking up the baby pokemon. "And you're a good little Pichu too." She told him, which just made the wee mouse frown. He didn't want to be picked up, and he expressed his objection by zapping her right hand with the power of a static shock. She winced and moved the pokemon to her other hand to wave the pain out of the first. Pichu simply shocked her other hand, which made her move him back to the first. The little electric pokemon grinned. This was a fun game to him. He kept shocking each hand she held him in, forcing her to switch hands for the next couple seconds. She soon got fed up, reached into her pocket and slipped on her pageant gloves. When Pichu tried to zap her, he couldn't get through the material. Lola smirked and stuck her tongue out at him. He responded by grabbing her tongue with both little hands and refusing to let go. Girl Jordan, who had been trying not to laugh, couldn't help it anymore. She just started cracking up at the sight. "...Hith name blill be Blat!" The Loud in pink growled, her speech hindered by the baby pokemon. The newly named Brat just grinned, taking the name like a badge of honor.

"Hahaha, oh come on, Lola. He's just a baby," Jordan said as Lola managed to free her tongue from the Pichu's tiny fingers.

"He's still a brat."

"Takes one to know one," Lana whispered, snickering to herself.

"Something you want to share with the class, Lana…?" Lola snarled dangerously.

"Dinner's ready!" Lincoln called out before things could escalate. He poured some of the hot, sweet curry over bowls of rice and started handing them out.

"Thanks Linky," The cranky, short tempered twin said as she took her bowl.

"Linky?" Girl Jordan asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"It's...a nickname Lola and Leni call me by sometimes," The white haired chef said with a soft blush.

"How can we help it? It's cute," Lola said before she started to dig in. "...MMMMMMMM! This is yummy!"

"Is it?" Jordan looked down at her own bowl and eagerly took a big spoonful after the pageant princess' glowing review. "Hmmm...It's good, but a bit too sweet for my liking. It needs more kick."

"I think it's great," Lana interjected, stuffed her face with curry and rice. "Though I agree a little spice would make it perfect." Most of the pokemon seemed to be enjoying it too, or at least they were eating it. Brat, Brittany, Nibbles, and Pidove seemed to like it the best, while Pinsir and Zubat wouldn't even touch it, instead going for the pokemon food pellets Lana offered them.

"So this is what Dad had to deal with at mealtimes…" Lincoln commented quietly to himself as he watched the two pokemon turn their non-existent noses at his cooking. 'Still, they have a point. Maybe a few spicy berries, maybe a little dryness would help balance the flavor more.' He thought to himself after he took a few bites. Hovering beside him, Princess set her own bowl down after only two bites. The one son looked down at the bowl, then up to her. The Frillish looked like she wouldn't eat it. "What's the matter, Princess? There's nothing in there that you don't like." He spoke the truth, as she did like the flavor. However, she just wanted to be fussy. The middle Loud was a bit bothered by this, but he had witnessed his own parents deal with fussy eaters. He knew what to do. "Does that mean you don't want dessert, Princess?"

"...Frill illish frill?" She asked, her eyes shifting to look at him.

"Oh, just a little jam on-" He didn't even need to finish the sentence. The word jam was all the motivation she needed to start eating again. Besides, she was really hungry.

* * *

After dinner, the evening was spent in idle conversation between the four trainers as they let their pokemon stretch their legs or wings. However, soon enough, the two teens and two kids started to feel the need for sleep. Lincoln crawled his way into his tent, feeling grateful he had spent the little extra money for a larger tent. He had rolled out his sleeping bag, then caught his Frillish before she claimed. "Whoa. Not so fast, Princess," He told her. "I've got something for you too." He pulled out the large comforter he had brought with him and laid it out after folding it, turning it into a kind of mattress. The pink jellyfish floated closer to the blanket and gently prodded it with a tentacle.

"Hmmmm. Frillish," She said with a smile as she made herself comfy on it, finding it sufficiently comfortable.

"I'm happy you're happy," Her trainer said with a smile as he pulled out his pokedex. "Let's see...where's the email app...ah, there we go." Lincoln tapped the application icon on the screen, bringing up his email. He flicked through his inbox, but didn't seem to find what he was looking for. The one son sighed sadly as he closed the application. "Not a word from Ronnie Anne," He said. It had been a couple months since he had last heard from his friend, and he was really starting to get worried. She had never gone this long without talking to him before; at least, not unless she was really angry at him. Back when she lived in Royal Woods, the two were pretty close friends, and friends they remained after she moved to Great Lakes City and started her own adventure there. The two would email, chat and call each other almost every day. However, in recent times, their correspondence became less and less, until eventually complete silence. He just didn't understand it. Was she hurt? Just busy?

"Frillish?" The aquatic ghost asked, clearly able to see the concern in his face as she put a tentacle on his shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, don't worry, Princess. Just wondering about a friend of mine," He told her, giving her a small smile before returning to his musing. 'Then again, Clyde and the others haven't really spoken to me much since they started their pokemon journey too, but that was mostly because they were so busy. Maybe I'm just worrying too much,' He decided in his head. 'Yeah. I'll probably end up running into her sometime during our travels eventually.' He nodded a little to no one in particular as he shut off his pokedex and climbed into his sleeping bag.

* * *

A little later that night, Lola was attempting to sleep inside her tent and sleeping bag. Attempting being the key word. In spite of her time in the Bluebell Scouts with her sister, the pageant participant never liked camping. The idea of sleeping on the ground didn't appeal to her in the slightest. That wasn't her problem tonight, however (though it wasn't helping). Her problem was the darkness and the noises of the night. She wasn't necessarily afraid of the dark, but being in the dark in a nice, comfortable room was one thing. Being in the dark out here, with all these pokemon milling about, most of them creepy crawly types...that was another thing entirely. The very idea left the poor young lady shaking in her bedsack. But what could she do about it? Well, if it were the old days, if she or Lana were afraid, they would ask to sleep in one of their older sibling's rooms. 'But I can't do that here...I'm a big girl. Eleven years old. Far too old for that. If Lana saw or heard me asking to stay with Lincoln, I'd never hear the end of it…' She fretted internally. "Maybe I can call Brittany out...no. She's done so much work today, She's earned a rest. I just need to relax. I'll be safe in my tent. No pokemon can get in here...and the only pokemon around here are more afraid of me than I am of them, right…?' That thought put her a little more at ease.

She smiled slightly as she laid her head against her pillow. She was about to close her eyes, but then she saw a shadow on the wall of her tent. A shadow that looked like a tall, thin monster with a round head and sharp claws on its head. "Eep! What do I know!?" Lola screeched in fear, grabbing her bag and pillow and rushing out of the tent. Just outside her tent, a green spider pokemon was resting on the outside, watching as she ran away. It blinked its large eyes before looking to the fourth wall and saying, in Pokemon,

"What's eating her?" Lola dashed over to Lincoln's tent in a panic, but as soon as she got there, she looked over to Lana's tent. The zipper was down on her tent and all was quiet.

'She's asleep. Perfect.' The prissy twin thought with a sigh of relief. She gently tapped on the flap of her older brother's tent. "Lincoln…" She whispered. After a few seconds, she heard him groan as he woke up.

"Ugh...if you're here to sell me something, get lost…" The groggy sixteen year old grumbled before peeking out of the flap. When he spotted Lola, looking scared, he opened the flap all the way, looking surprised. "Lola?"

"Ssshhhh…" Lola hushed him. "...I'm sorry to wake you, Linky...but...can I stay with you tonight…?" She asked in a soft, pathetic voice, her eyes big and sad. "Just this one night? Pleeeeease." The one son could hardly believe what he was seeing. He hadn't seen her like this in years; not since that big thunderstorm back when she was five. She followed up with a little lip quiver, which would have broken any resistances he had...if not for the fact the only reason he hesitated was because he was still half asleep. He smiled softly to her and motioned her to come in. She smiled in return and crawled right in. The moment she did, she was surprised to see Lana there, all curled up in her own sleeping bag to his left. Her jaw fell open as she looked at her sleeping twin, then to her brother. He put a finger to his mouth, then gestured to a space beside him opposite Lana. The beauty centered twin just nodded lightly, setting up her sleeping bag quietly to his right.

"Better?" he asked her in a hushed voice.

"Much…" The comforted young lady replied. "...but needless to say, this never happened."

"My lips are sealed, as long as you don't give Lana a hard time for doing the same."

"...fair enough." She answered. Even if she wanted to argue, she was simply too tired. The moment her head touched her pillow, she zonked out completely. Lincoln chuckled inaudibly before he gave each of his little sisters a kiss on the forehead, then laid back to reenter dreamland himself.

* * *

_AN: Just as a note, just because Girl Jordan is travelling with them, it's no guarentee that she will be Lincoln's love interest for this story...though the chance may be good._

_Main Characters current pokemon teams:_

_Lincoln_

_Frillish aka Princess  
Water Ghost  
Ability: Cursed Body  
_

_Pidove  
Normal Flying  
Ability: Super Luck_

_Lola_

_Furfrou aka Brittany_  
_Normal_  
_Ability: Fur Coat_

_Pichu aka Brat_  
_Electric_  
_Ability: Static_  
_Egg Move: Volt Tackle_

_Lana_

_Tympole aka Hops_  
_Water_  
_Ability: Hydration_

_Scatterbug aka Dusty_  
_Bug  
__Ability: Shield Dust_

_Bidoof aka Nibbles  
Normal  
Ability: Unaware_

_Pidgey  
Normal/Flying  
Ability: Keen Eye_

_Girl Jordan_

_Timburr_  
_Fighting_  
_Ability: Guts_

_Pinsir_  
_Bug_  
_Ability:Mold Breaker_

_(The others in Lana's team will not be accounted for until they are used)_

_Next up will probably be a chapter of LincolnJuice (as I'm pretty close to finishing that one), possibly followed by A Lass Called Leni._


	4. Chapter 4: A fiend in deed

A fiend indeed

As the sun rose in the early morning sky, Lola and Lana vacated Lincoln's tent before he woke up (Lola sneaking away first, then Lana). They didn't bother to wake him up, though, so that was left to Princess; a task she was more than happy to perform. She leaned over Lincoln as she slept, smiling a little.

"Frillllish…" She said softly, shaking him gently. "Friiiillish…" Her shaking didn't seem to be doing the job...which is what she was hoping for. "Frill Fri Frillish…" She smirked as she lightly flicked her tentacle right under his nose. Lincoln flinched and turned his head in his sleep, but the Frillish simply followed him. After a few seconds, the white haired trainer sneezed and opened his eyes. Princess grinned at him, waving to him as he sighed.

"...good morning, Princess…" He groaned as he sat up. "...bet you think you're real cute." The pink water pokemon responded by giving him the big eyes, a bright smile, and holding her arm tentacles under her face as if to say 'I can't help it if I'm cute', complete with eyelash flutter. He just sighed and shook his head, but smiled all the same before he crawled out of his tent. When he emerged, Girl Jordan was making some toast using a grill rack she had brought with her, laying each slice of bread over the fire until it became toasted. With Lincoln's jars of pb, jam and jelly, it was a simple, but tasty breakfast for all. Once they were finished and the fire was put out, they all moved off the platform created by the portable campsite and Lana pressed the button on the side of it. Almost instantly, the whole campsite, tents and all, had returned to the simple package it had started as.

"Wow. Now that's convenient," Jordan said with a slight smile.

"Isn't it? We got it for our birthday from Lincoln's friend, Clyde," Lana explained as she put the instant campsite away.

"How's he been, by the way?" The light brown haired teen asked as she turned to look at the man with the plan.

"He's doing alright from what I can tell. He's been really busy lately, from what he told us at the part," Lincoln told her. "Not sure with what, though. He doesn't talk much about it." The popular girl thought this was pretty strange, but didn't think too much about it. After all, they had a lot of ground to cover.

* * *

After a few hours walking, the four of them had finally reached Route 2. From a visual standpoint, it didn't look that different from the first road: a dirt road with plenty of forest and tall grass. However, it still held a few different pokemon from the first route. None of them really understood why this was, but they just accepted that was the way it was. Lana wasn't complaining though. New pokemon meant a lot of new friends. In fact, she ran off in pursuit of a Wurmple (which she fought, but didn't catch before), Lincoln not far behind her. Meanwhile, Lola too was on the lookout for a new pokemon. She still wanted a pokemon that looked really good, but she needed a pokemon with enough might to deal with serious threats too. The question on her mind though: was there such a pokemon here? The answer came bounding across the path mere seconds later. A brown and tan lion cub with a little tuft of red and orange fur on top of its head was chasing after a round, green berry, batting it around like it was a ball. This playful little kitty instantly got the attention of the aspiring princess as she pulled her pokedex on it. "Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokemon. They set off on their own from their pride and live by themselves to become stronger. These hot-blooded Pokémon are quick to fight. The stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body."

"That sounds like the description of a real fighter. This could be perfect," Lola said with a big smile. "Come on out, Brat. Let's see what you can do." She tossed her Pichu's ball in front of her, releasing him from his portable home. The Litleo blinked, looking curiously at the mouse pokemon. "Give it a little thundershock," She instructed her baby pokemon. He glanced back at her with a somewhat sour expression, but did as she said anyway (if for no other reason than he wanted to test his mettle against this lion). Brat unleashed a weak jolt of electricity on the opposing feline, zapping it on the nose. This caused it to spring back, its fur standing on end. Otherwise, it seemed to have little effect, apart from making it angry. It gave a mewling sort of growl as it opened its mouth and spat out a volley of tiny burning embers.

"Pichu!" Brat exclaimed as he darted between the small smoldering projectiles, barely managing to avoid them as he emitted another bolt of static electricity upon the cub. The Litleo didn't seem too hurt by the attack, though it did seem to go quite stiff all of the sudden.

"Huh? What happened?" Lola asked, looking at her opponent in confusion.

"I think Brat managed to paralyze the pokemon," Jordan said. "Most electric attacks have a chance to do that. It should be easier to catch now."

"Easier to catch? Sounds good to me! Pokeball, go!" The thrown pokeball bounced off Litleo's itty bitty mane before engulfing it in light. After a few seconds of gentle rocking, the pokeball clicked and went ding. "Yay! We got it!" Lola cheered, with Brat looking confident, almost to the point of smug.

"The Litleo is a female, with the ability Rivalry." Her pokedex elaborated as soon as the capture data came in.

"Rivalry? What's that?"

"Pokemon with the Rivalry ability tend to fight more fiercely against pokemon sharing the same gender, while fighting less fiercely against others of the opposing gender."

"Ooo. That could come in handy," The prissy twin commented as she ran over and claimed her new catch. "I think I'll name you...Isabella."

"And I name you my next opponent!" Came a really young voice from a little further ahead had declared. Standing before her was a five year old girl kindergartener, who was carrying a little buneary plush in her arms.

"Huh? I thought you had to be eleven to be a trainer." Lola said, looking surprised.

"Oh, well...yeah, you do," The young child confessed, her boldness fading a little. "But you don't have to be a full trainer to battle."

"She's right, you know." Girl Jordan interjected. "Not having a license means you just can't participate in league battles, breed pokemon, etc."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I accept." The pageant princess looked down at the little Pichu. "Ready to go another round, Brat?"

"Pichu," The baby mouse pokemon answered with a nod.

"Go, Sentret!" The child exclaimed, calling forward a chubby little raccoon-ish rodent with a long ringed tail and rabbit like ears.

"Aww. So cute…" Lola cooed, her eyes sparkling. "Pity I have to knock it out. Brat, show them a little of your Charm!"

"Sentret, tackle!" The plump rodent nodded and ran toward the baby pokemon. However, part way to it, the Pichu's eyes suddenly became very big, wearing his most adorable smile as it gently dug one of his fingers into his cheek. "Awwww!" The little girl exclaimed with a sigh, a sentiment shared by her Sentret. In fact, it was so distracted by the electric mouse's charm, its charge was slowed to the point the tackle was more of a bump. It wasn't enough to hurt, but it did knock Brat onto his tail. He smirked as he built electricity into his cheeks, then he zapped the enemy pokemon with a Thundershock.

"That's it, Brat!" The pageant princess cheered on her Pichu as the Sentret gasped and staggered back from the shock.

"Don't give up, Sentret! Quick attack!" The squirrelly raccoon nodded, gritting its teeth as it seemed to vanish from sight. The yellow mouse blinked and looked about, just as the chubby rodent slammed right into him, sending the baby mouse flat on his back. Fortunately, after it had been charmed, the attack did little to hurt Brat. It did, however, make him angry.

"Uh oh. You did it now…" Lola said with a grin, her electric pokemon gathering electricity all over his body before he ran toward Sentret. "Time for his signature Volt Tackle!" Brat unleashed a mighty squeak before he became a ball of pure electrical energy and collided headlong into the enemy normal pokemon. The impact caused the sphere to explode in a bright flash of lightning. When the two children looked again, Sentret was starting to get back on its feet, looking the worse for wear, and Brat looked a little banged up as well. However, they were both still capable of battling, with Sentret making another rapid attack against the Pichu. The plucky baby Pikachu was sent skidding back a few inches as he tried to regain his breath. "You almost got it, Brat! One more Thundershock!"

"Don't let up! Keep Quick Attacking!" Once more, the pudgy rodent with the long ears moved faster than the eye could see. However, this time, Brat just flopped onto his back as if he had had enough. When the Sentret started to pass over him, he unleashed a bolt of static electricity right into its prominent belly. That jolt was enough to drain the last of Sentret's energy and it passed out...landing right on top of him. "Oh no! Sentret!"

"Brat!" The prissy twin gasped as she ran over to the two pokemon, helping him out from under his fainted opponent. He looked mighty cranky, but otherwise alright.

"Oh no...my poor pokemon fainted…" The little girl said, close to tears. "And I can't go back to the pokemon center…"

"Is it too far away?" Jordan asked as she walked over to the young'un, Lola giving her Pichu a hug that he objected to.

"No...it's just up the road. My mommy works there," The child said, pointing further up the road.

"Then why can't you return?"

"...a bad man is there," She answered fearfully. "He won't let anyone into the pokemon center unless they pay him."

"What!?" Jordan and Lola exclaimed together in outrage.

"What what?" The white haired Loud asked as he and Lana returned (her captured Wurmple sent to the box).

"The young lady here says that someone is forcing those trying to enter the pokemon center to pay a toll." The teen with the light brown hair explained with a frown on her face.

"Seriously!? That's just not right…"

"My thoughts exactly…" Girl Jordan turned back to the scared little girl. "Lead the way, kid. We'll see if we can get him to go away."

"You will? Really? Thank you," The grateful little girl said, taking Girl Jordan by the hand as she started to lead her down the road.

"She really is nice," Lola commented just loud enough for Lincoln to hear as she recalled Brat.

"And brave too," Lana added.

"Come on, girls. She might need some backup," Their brother said with a serious look, running off after his friend and the child. The twins grinned to one another before they followed him.

"Just like the knight going to save his princess," The beauty centered twin commented quietly.

"Nah. I don't really see Jordan as a princess. More like a knight going to save his fellow knight." Lana responded under her breath.

"There weren't any girl knights, Lana…"

"What about Joan of Arc?" Lola opened her mouth, but no sound came out before she slowly closed it. She had forgotten about her, and now she was beat. Lana smirked in victory as Lola huffed angrily, turning to face forward. "Point goes to me."

* * *

Up ahead, by a babbling brook with a little footbridge built over it, a small red and white pokemon center stood. It had been built a few years back to help beginner trainers keep their pokemon healthy on the long road to Glenvale. It didn't have the rooms where official trainers could stay like their city based counterparts, but it could heal injured and tired pokemon in nothing flat. However, today, the way into the building was blocked by a quartet of teenagers; three boys and one girl, about 13 or 14 years each. Each one of them was dressed as a junior executive or in preppy style clothes, but physically couldn't be more different. One young man was large, bulky and bald, the other was small with shoulder length black hair. The teen girl was petit, curvier than most with bubblegum pink hair, and clinging to the arm of the young man in the center of the group. He had perfectly coifed orange hair, wore dark forest green suit with polished black shoes, a black tie, and a gold watch on his wrist. On the left side of the chest of his jacket was an insignia of a sabre pointed downward with a long, hand guard curved down toward the blade. He was laughing about something, and the others were laughing along. "Hahaha. And then, he had the nerve to challenge me. Me! I mean, didn't that ignorant servant know the customer is always right? Especially when that customer is me? "

"Some people are just dumb, right boss?" The largest of the four inquired.

"Right you are. Anyway, I just needed to demand the manager and, upon telling him who I was, had the manager on his knees begging me for forgiveness. I decided to show him mercy...if he were to fire that miserable cretin who dared tell me no. Naturally, he not only dismissed the idiotic servant, but even blacklisted him from ever getting work in that field in Maple City ever again. The way that peon cried after he was terminated...hilarious," The leader of the group recounted with a cruel laugh. "Ah...such power can be so entertaining…"

"Hey, boss...look over there," The shortest one of the crew called out, pointing down the road, in the direction of the little girl, the Louds and Girl Jordan headed their way. "Fresh meat."

"Indeed. And the baby too." The teen with the fiery hair sneered when he spotted them.

"Want us to deal with them, darling?" The preppy girl on his arm asked him, sounding absolutely enthralled with him.

"No. No. You all had your fun with the last one. This I will deal with personally." He gently freed his arm from the disappointed looking teen girl. He took two steps away from his group just the trainers from Royal Woods and Larchton had arrived.

"Th...that's him…" The four year old said, gesturing toward the one standing before them.

"Stay back, kid. We'll handle this," Jordan said quietly, the child quickly hiding behind her as she stood tall and firm in front of this unknown adversary. "So, you're the one preventing trainers from entering the pokemon center, are you?"

"Me? Hardly, miss," He replied with a scoff. "Poverty is what is preventing them from passing. After all, if one cannot pay, they must be poor. If they are poor, I don't want them in MY center. It all stands to reason," He continued, shrugging as he wore a grin that just made Jordan want to slug him.

"Your center!? This is a public pokemon center, free to everyone!" Lana snapped in absolute outrage.

"Not for much longer, if I have anything to say about it...so why not save yourselves some trouble, get ahead of the curve, and hand over five hundred dollars. In cash." He demanded, holding his hand out to him.

"Five hundred!? Are you crazy!?" Lincoln exclaimed. "No one just carries around that much money!"

"Perhaps you don't, you empoverished imbecile, but the likes of me...five hundred is a mere drop in the bucket," He responded with a snicker. "That said, for the two lovely ladies in your group, I have an alternative."

"Two? There are three ladies here!" Lana informed him with a frown.

"You keep telling yourself that, though it will never make it true." His three 'friends' burst out laughing at that. Lana grit her teeth and tried to look tough, but that comment hurt her more than she was willing to let on. It also lit a fuse within Lincoln, who was turning red in the face, and damn near made Lola lose her temper. No one says something THAT hurtful to her sister and lives to tell the tale. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted...I'd be willing to let the two lovely ladies in your group pass...for but a kiss." The girl of his gang, who had been looking so endearingly at him, suddenly blinked when she heard him say that. Girl Jordan seemed visibly disgusted at the prospect. Lola, however, suddenly threw on a smile and approached him with a slight sway in her step.

"So, you want a kiss, do you?" She asked him in a syrupy sweet voice. The brunette teen behind her looked utterly floored by her sudden move. However, Lincoln and Lana were smirking to one another. They knew Lola long enough to know what was coming.

"Why yes, I do." The young man in front of her replied, his grin growing. She motioned him closer with one finger, the scummy teen leaning in with his lips puckered. In an instant, he was on his back on the ground, holding his reddened cheek as Lola stood over him. She had punched him the moment he went in for the kiss, so quickly no one had time to react.

"Then kiss my fist!" She had said as she decked him. With the deed done, she simply dusted off her hands and turned to return to her family and friends, who were laughing their heads off. However, the two remaining boys of the group ran forward and grabbed her by the arms, stopping her from moving. The preppy girl, however, was trying her darnedest to not laugh along with the Louds and Jordan.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Lincoln warned them. "She's a biter!" The bald goon and his diminutive associate both turned to look at Lola, who gave them a sinister smile in return. A smile that revealed a LOT of very sharp looking teeth. They, wisely, decided to let go of her.

"You did the right thing." She told them sweetly as she sauntered away from them. The orange haired boy in the dirt covered green suit could only lay there in shock, holding his sore cheek and looking at Lola with an expression of wonder.

'...what a woman…' He thought to himself before he snapped himself out of his daze. In an attempt to save some of his dignity, he rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and turned to the group with an unamused look on his face. "You realize I could sue you to oblivion for that stunt, don't you? Do you not realize who I am?" He inquired angrily.

"Should we care?" Girl Jordan asked flatly, not the least bit intimidated by this brat.

"I am Charlemange Tavish, of THE Westminster Tavishes!" He declared, his face a little red at the perceived disrespect. "The Tavish family responsible for supplying this whole continent with pokeballs. THAT Tavish family."

"Never heard of you," Lola told him coldly.

"I don't think it matters who you are. You have no right to be doing this," The dodgeball champ of RWE said firmly. "So either clear off, or we'll make you leave." To illustrate her point, she grabbed one of the pokeballs at her belt.

"Please. I don't fight women," Charlemange informed them. "It wouldn't be fair. As my uncle Montague would say, they are the weaker gender; in muscle, in mind, and in business." Now his once biggest fan girl was glaring at his back, clearly offended.

"Says the man who got socked by the 'weaker gender'," The fussier of the twins retorted snarkily. The arrogant Tavish's friends put their hands over their mouths to keep their snickers from being heard.

"You got lucky. No way you could do that again."

"Wanna test that theory?" Lola asked, rolling up her right sleeve. Charlemange flinched at the idea, quickly turning to look at Lincoln.

"You there. Grandpa. You've been awfully quiet…" He said snidely, leering at the silently fuming teenager. It was taking everything Lincoln had to keep his temper under control. He had enough of this pompous creep's mouth. "Too scared to step up, are you?"

"If you're asking for a battle...you've got it," Lincoln replied angrily, pulling a pokeball from his bandolier.

"Heh. I must warn you, I am currently undefeated in pokemon battling." Charlemange informed him, his smarmy smirk growing. "Thirty consecutive battles, and all of them a victory for me."

"Then this shouldn't be a problem for you." The white haired young man stood ready to face the over confident egotist before him.

"Suit yourself. If you truly want to lose in front of the lovely ladies and whatever tha-"

"You know, you're doing an awful lot of blabber mouthing, and not much battling. You asked for a battle, I accepted. Now put up AND shut up!" Lincoln cut him off furiously. Charlemange blinked in shock at his audacity, then frowned. "Go, Pidove!" Once more, the absent minded pigeon appeared in front of Lincoln.

"Very well, if you wish to hasten your humiliation, so be it. I choose Axew!" From a golden pokemon containment device came a little green dragon with a dark green crest and two little tusks sticking out of each side of its mouth.

"Axew?" The one son wondered aloud as he pulled out his pokedex.

"Axew, the Tusk Pokemon. They mark their territory by leaving gashes in trees with their tusks. If a tusk breaks, a new one grows in quickly. They use their tusks to crush the berries they eat. Repeated regrowth makes their tusks strong and sharp."

"Huh. I think I heard the word tusk more times in that description than I ever will again." He commented quietly before turning his attention to the battle field. Before the battle started, he tapped the button on his shirt to activate the hidden camera.

"This guy has a dragon pokemon!? Already!?" Lana exclaimed, equal parts shocked, excited and scared.

"Why yes. It's an easy feat when your uncle is one of the richest men this side of Sinnoh." Charlemange bragged. "But enough of that. Axew, use Scratch. No sense embarrassing him entirely right off the bat."

"Pidove, quick attack!" Lincoln instructed his bird pokemon. However, he wasn't paying attention as he pecked at the ground. This gave Axew an opening to slash at him with its little claws. Pidove squawked in pain as he was knocked backwards from the force of the hit, before glaring at the opposing dragon. He spread his wings and surged forward right at the emerald reptile, his beak plowing right into its chest. Axew staggered a bit as the Pidove circled around for another pass. It seemed absolutely focused on the battle now. "That's great! Give it another one!" The gray pigeon gave a coo of compliance before it dove at the Axew again before it could react. This time, its beak seemed to hit a pressure point, as the dragon pokemon gave out a loud cry of pain as it was struck and knocked to the ground.

"Axew, what are you doing!?" The teen with the swelled head shouted. "Don't just lay there! Use Dragon Rage!" He demanded after the tusk pokemon shakily got to its feet. It looked up just as the Pidove was charging again, fire in its little eyes. From its mouth, a jet of dark blue fire was spat out, engulfing the poor flying pokemon in midair. Pidove screeched in agony before falling to the ground, unable to battle any further.

"Pidove!" Lincoln cried out in concern before recalling it.

"Hmph. You should have stayed hidden behind the ladies. It would have saved you from this thrashing. Why not just give up now and save what little dignity you may have left."

"I'm not done yet. Princess, you're up!"

"Frillish!" The pink jellyfish replied as she floated over his head and onto the battlefield.

"Princess? More like pauper, like you!" Frillish's face turned a deep red at his attempt at an insult.

"Frill frill frillish frill!" She screamed out in rage.

"She said she'll make you eat those words!" Lana translated.

"I doubt that. Axew, just Dragon Rage them and finish this. This is getting dull to me." The green dragon charged another burst of blue fire in its mouth before unleashing it toward the water pokemon. Princess screamed in absolute pain as the flames surrounded her. However, unlike Pidove, the Frillish managed to withstand the hit...albeit barely. She was shaking in both discomfort and fury. Lincoln looked in utter horror as his injured pokemon, starting to regret this move. Just then, a sickly purple aura emitted from the pokemon with the princess complex as she glared at the little dragon, making it recoil in terror.

"W...what's going on!?" Lincoln asked as the aura now affected the opposing Axew.

"That would be Frillish's Cursed Body ability." His pokedex answered. "Whenever a pokemon with Cursed Body is attacked, they have a chance of preventing their opponent from using that same attack for a brief period."

"What!? She can't do that!" Charlemange objected as his dragon pokemon wailed in fright.

"Incorrect. She already has." The electronic pokemon encyclopedia responded flatly, which got a laugh from the twins.

'Well, that's something, but Princess is still hurt bad…' Lincoln thought to himself. '...and unfortunately, the rules of battling prevent the use of items in battle…' His mind raced as he tried to think of what he could do. "...Princess, attack Axew with Absorb!" He instructed, pointing toward the shaking drake. The jellyfish pokemon obeyed without question, throwing herself at the Axew and wrapping her tentacles around it. Once she had a good hold on it, her tendrils started to glow.

"Absorb? What kind of water pokemon knows absorb!?" The arrogant teen asked angrily, but then he smirked and shrugged. "Ah, who cares? Dragon pokemon are strong against grass attacks, so Axew shouldn't-huh?" It seems he spoke too soon, for his pokemon wasn't looking too good, while Princess' wounds were recovering (albeit only slightly). "Grrr! Axew, you're better than that! This should be a cakewalk for you!" He screamed, clenching his fists.

"Well, you're about to get your just desserts!" Lola exclaimed with a big grin. "Wipe him out, Linky!"

"That's what you think, beautiful. We still have another trick up our sleeves." Charlemange looked at Princess with a sinister smirk. "You see, my Axew is of the finest breed, the offspring of the most powerful dragon type pokemon. And from his parentage, he not only gains physical perfection, but knowledge of their techniques as well."

"Huh? You mean...it has an egg move?" Girl Jordan asked, starting to get worried herself.

"Precisely. And with it, he will obliterate that mewling little jellyfish...and the Frillish as well." The orange haired young man laughed at his own joke before he continued. "Axew, attack with Dragon Pulse!"

"Princess, watch out!" Lincoln yelled, but it was too late. Axew was already charging the blast, and Princess had no time or room to dodge. She closed her eyes and braced herself as the emerald drake unleashed a blast of violet energy right at her at point blank range. "No!"

"Ha! What did I tell you!? Obliter-what!?" Charlemange's boasting was cut short as the light faded and Lincoln's Frillish still had a strong hold on the Axew. In fact, she seemed hardly affected by the attack. He clearly took serious umbrage at that.

'How did Princess take that so well in comparison to Dragon Rage?' Lincoln wondered to himself. 'Nevermind. Question for another time. Right now, I need to focus on getting Princess through this fight,' He told himself as he shook his head to dispel the mental inquiry. "Princess, time to up the ante. Attack with Night Shade!" The jellyfish nodded as she released the dragon and put some distance between herself and her foe before her eyes turned dark purple. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the dragon was suddenly covered in a similar colored smoke, the mist seeming to drain his very essence.

"AXEW! Enough! Dragon pulse again, and this time, DO IT RIGHT!" He screamed, making the tusk bearing reptile flinch in fear. He charged up another draconic beam, but did it and fired it too hastily. The attack went right over Princess' and Lincoln's heads, blasting the top right off the nearest tree.

"Princess, use Night Shade again!" The white haired trainer told her, hoping to put an end to this quickly. Not only was this brat getting reckless, but he didn't know when Dragon Rage would get uncursed. The pink pokemon nodded and plagued the scaly half pint with her ghostly powers once more. The Axew looked pretty sick for a little while, but then fell face first into the dirt.

"What!? NO!" Charlemange bellowed to the heavens as the twins and Girl Jordan cheered, and Lincoln sighed with relief.

"That was close...good work, Princess," He told her as he pulled her into a hug. Normally, she would be thrilled. However, with all the burns and bruises on her frail body, a hug was out of the question. She pushed herself away from him as she winced.

"Frill Frillish…"

"Oh...sorry. I guess we should wait until you heal up first."

"Gah! That didn't count!" Charlemange complained loudly, ignoring his exhausted dragon. "You cheated with that curse thing!"

"How is that cheating? All pokemon have abilities," Lana pointed out.

"It's because it was bad for him," Jordan reasoned, looking at the sore loser with crossed arms and a disapproving look. "Suck it up, buttercup, and send out your next pokemon."

"I don't have any other pokemon!" He snapped. "Agh! Axew, return!" A red light encompassed the fainted pokemon as he returned to his pokeball. "I don't know who you think you are, Grandpa…"

"The name is Lincoln. Lincoln L-"

"Did I say I cared who you were!? Regardless, you will soon come to learn why no one crosses Charlemange Tavish!" He turned swiftly toward the bridge and started to storm off. "Come on, you guys.."

"Mmmmm...nah," The large, bald teen replied, shaking his head.

"What!?" The furious loser asked, whipping his head around.

"You got owned by a little girl and a geek...Yer not looking so tough anymore."

"...I'm not that little…" Lola grumbled, pouting something fierce.

"And you know what...I'm tired of wearing this stupid suit." The shorter of the two said, tugging at his lapel and tie. "It was one thing when we looked like top dogs, but now, I look ridiculous." Charlemange turned to look at his once biggest fan girl, but her response to him was just to flip him the bird.

"What's that mean?" Lana asked curiously, pointing to the raised middle finger.

"I'll tell you later." Lola whispered. Her twin may have been lucky and innocent enough to not be exposed to that gesture, but Lola...she had seen it many times in the pageant circuit, both from parents and contestants. So many times, she had to find out what it meant and, courtesy of the internet, she found out. The young Tavish teen in green's face turned bright red with pure wrath as he stormed off, throwing a tantrum in the process, leaving his 'friends' to just meander away, leaving the way to the pokemon center open.

"Bye, Chuck!" The hat wearing twin called out as a parting shot, laughing as Charlemange started raging even harder now.

"Nice job, Lincoln," Jordan complimented him with a hearty pat on the back as the little girl ran into the center.

"You got him good, big brother!" The Loud in pink added, hugging his left arm.

"Yeah, though the battle was much closer than I would like." The one son replied, pulling Pidove's pokeball out to look at it with sadness. "If we didn't get lucky with Princess' Cursed Body…"

"What was up with that Dragon Rage attack?" Lana asked with a raised eyebrow. "How did it hurt Pidove and Princess so much?"

"I'm not sure, but I plan to do some research while we get our pokemon healed," Her brother answered. The four of them passed through the double doors leading into the building. The pokemon center was about as large as a convenience store, with a long counter taking up most of the back wall, along with a large healing machine synonymous with pokemon centers. Around the waiting room were a series of wooden chairs, and a few tables, along with a pair of vending machines by the door. Behind the counter was a young woman with curly yellow hair in a bright pink dress topped with a white apron, and a nurse's hat on her head. Beside her was an egg shaped, pink pokemon with a large egg in a belly pouch who was also wearing a nurse's hat. She was returning the pokeball to her daughter, who looked relieved that her poor Sentret was healthy again. After she expressed her gratitude to the trainers from Royal Woods and Larchton, she started to treat their pokemon, starting with Lincoln's team.

"Um...sir, are you sure you don't want to put your pokemon in her pokeball?" The nurse asked as Princess floated over the counter.

"Sorry, but she doesn't like being in her pokeball." Lincoln replied.

"Oh. Well, that's not a problem. It would just be easier in the pokeball." She explained as she brought Pidove's pokeball and Princess to the restoration device. While he waited, Lincoln took a seat in one of the chairs along the wall and pulled out his pokedex.

"Pokedex...actually, do you have a name apart from being called Pokedex?"

"Negative, Mr Loud, though if you wish, you may give me a nickname of your own."

"Hmmm. Alright. How about...Rip?" Lincoln suggested, a smile returning to his face.

"Rip?" Jordan inquired, giving him an odd look.

"Yeah. Rip. Named after my favorite survivalist, Rip Hardcore," The white haired teen explained to her. "The way I see it, if I'm going to survive in the world of pokemon, my pokedex is going to be essential. Ergo, Rip."

"Hehehe. Once a geek, always a geek, I guess," She teased him with a soft giggle. Lincoln's cheeks turned a little red as he looked away from her. "Oh, I'm just teasing you, Lincoln. Besides, at least you were-" She then whispered softly, "-and kinda still are-" Before continuing in a normal voice, "-a cute geek." He didn't hear what she had whispered, but he did hear her call him cute. His whole face turned red at that and he looked somewhat shocked. Jordan giggled a little harder at the look on his face, while the twins grinned to one another once more. The middle Loud shook off his shock and his blush after a couple seconds.

'She just said that to make me feel a bit better,' He thought to himself. 'Or to see my reaction...probably column a and column b.'

"Ahem. I don't mean to interrupt, Mr Loud, but I have registered the name Rip. I will now respond to that name as well as Pokedex," The synthetic voice told him.

"Right. Thank you, Rip. Anyway, what can you tell us about Dragon Rage?"

"Dragon Rage is a dragon type move that calls forth the literal inner fire and anger of the user and unleashes it all at once. The attack is much more damaging to younger pokemon than it is against older, seasoned pokemon. In addition, protective techniques such Defense Curl and Amnesia are ineffective against it."

"Yikes. I'll need to watch out for it in the future," Lincoln commented, gulping a bit after hearing the news. "That probably explains how it wiped out Pidove so quickly and nearly one shot Princess…"

"But then why did Dragon Pulse do practically nothing to Princess?" Lola asked, voicing her brother's pondering from earlier.

"That would be resulting from Frillish's natural defenses against special attacks, and Axew's lackluster special attack," Rip informed them in a mechanical monotone.

"Huh. Makes me wonder why Charlemange would want a special dragon attack on Axew in that case…" The man with the plan tapped his chin a bit as he considered why this would be. 'He probably just wanted to have a dragon starter and didn't really consider it.'

"Your pokemon are all healed, young man," The nurse declared, his one pokeball on the counter and his Frillish levitating over the counter, looking good as new.

"Feeling better, Princess?" Lincoln asked with a smile, rising from his seat. She answered by moving over to him and wrapping her tentacles around him in a big hug. "I'll take that as a yes," He said with a chuckle, giving her a well deserved hug in return as Lola and Lana turned over their pokemon for healing next.

* * *

_Main Characters current pokemon teams:_

_Lincoln_

_Frillish aka Princess  
Water Ghost  
Ability: Cursed Body  
_

_Pidove  
Normal Flying  
Ability: Super Luck_

_Lola_

_Furfrou aka Brittany_  
_Normal_  
_Ability: Fur Coat_

_Pichu aka Brat_  
_Electric_  
_Ability: Static_  
_Egg Move: Volt Tackle_

_Litleo aka Isabella  
Fire/Normal  
Ability: Rivalry_

_Lana_

_Tympole aka Hops_  
_Water_  
_Ability: Hydration_

_Scatterbug aka Dusty_  
_Bug  
__Ability: Shield Dust_

_Bidoof aka Nibbles  
Normal  
Ability: Unaware_

_Pidgey  
Normal/Flying  
Ability: Keen Eye_

_Girl Jordan_

_Timburr_  
_Fighting_  
_Ability: Guts_

_Pinsir_  
_Bug_  
_Ability:Mold Breaker_

_(The others in Lana's team will not be accounted for until they are used)_


	5. Chapter 5: The Bunny Hop

_AN: Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm doing alright. Just been busy with work, but still keeping healthy. Here's hoping you're all feeling alright as well._

* * *

The Bunny Hop

"Princess, Bubble attack!" Lincoln instructed.

"Dusty, throw up some Stun Spore!" Lana called out to her little Scatterbug.

"Isabella, Ember!" Lola ordered loudly.

"Timburr, Rock Throw!" Girl Jordan exclaimed to her faithful starter. It had been a few days since they had left the Pokemon Center toward the start to Route 2, and the closer the group had gotten to Glenvale, the more opposing trainers they found themselves encountering. Not that any of them were really complaining, however; each win got each of them a little more prize money and more experience for their pokemon. Currently, Lincoln's Frillish was engaged in battle with a floating rock creature with two long arms with large fists on the end, but not for long. The bubbles she spat at it caused it to faint in no time flat. Lola's Litleo was battling a small blue sheep with yellow wool, and seemed to be doing decently well as she breathed tiny sparks of fire at it. Timburr, on the other hand, was up against a Zubat, whose trainer felt pretty confident upon seeing they had the type advantage. However, this confidence faded quickly when their bat pokemon ended up buried in stones. Lana was kind of the odd one out on this venture, as she was battling a wild pokemon; a monkey like pokemon that was mostly head with a pig snout that looked utterly ticked off about something. Her little wormy monster had sent a cloud of dust at the angry chimp, which caused all of it's muscles to go very stiff. Unfortunately for Dusty, the opposing fighting pokemon was able to fight its way through the paralysis. Fortunately, however, its Low Kick hardly fazed the Scatterbug.

"You got this, Dusty. Now to catch it!" The hat wearing twin drew a fresh pokeball from her bag and threw it right at the pig monkey pokemon. It put up quite a fight within the pokemon containment sphere, but it was eventually captured. "Yes!"

"Mankey, the pig monkey pokemon. It lives in treetop colonies. If one becomes enraged, the whole colony rampages for no reason. It's unsafe to approach if it gets violently enraged for no reason and can't distinguish friends from foes. This particular Mankey is female and possesses the Vital Spirit ability." Her pokedex informed her.

"Sweet! Think I'll keep her on the team," She said before she looked at her belt of occupied pokeballs. This was always the hardest part for her, picking one of her pokemon to go to the box. She sighed and eventually settled on sending Pidgey to the box. Just then, her Scatterbug started to glow with a bright white light. "Huh?" Before her eyes, the caterpillar started to change: he lost the three hairs on his head, grew a little bit and looked like he was now surrounded by a light gray cloak with dusty patches in certain spots. Once his metamorphosis had concluded, he turned around to look at his stunned trainer.

"Spewpa!" He cheered, jumping in place in joy, sprinkling some dust from his cloak in the process.

"Dusty...you evolved!" Lana cheered as well, rushing her little bug and pulling him into a big embrace (getting lots of dust and dirt all over her in the process). "My first evolved pokemon, and the first in the group to evolve a pokemon! This is so cool!"

"Congratulations, Lana," Her brother said to her with a smile after he had collected his prize money and gave Princess her props with a pat on the head. He didn't have the heart to tell her that bug pokemon tended to be the easiest to evolve, seeing her so happy about it. Her short tempered twin seemed somewhat upset about this, however.

"Well, my pokemon are prettier and cuter," Lola said, petting Isabella's back. "Isn't that right, Isabella?"

"Leo!" The fiery lion cub replied happily. Lana just rolled her eyes, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let Lola's saltiness spoil her mood.

"It shouldn't be much longer before we reach Glenvale now." Jordan said after she recalled Timburr.

"Right. We should get there by tonight." Lincoln agreed with a nod.

"Good. I desperately want a shower…" Lola said, looking relieved. "...and a good hot meal...er, no offense, Lincoln." The one son kind of frowned at her for that comment, but held his tongue.

* * *

It took the four of them a few hours to reach the little town of Glenvale, with only a few trainer ambushes slowing them down. It was fairly late into the night when they arrived. The town was smaller than Royal Woods, but not by much. Apart from housing a league sanctioned gym, the town had at least two pokemon centers (one close to the gym and the other nearest the residential areas) with Pokemarts included, a few different stores (including clothing and a handful of grocery stores), a movie theater, a few hotels/motels, and a handful of restaurants. One restaurant in particular was the most welcome sight for the four of them: a Burpin Burger. Lincoln thought his cooking was pretty decent, but he and his sisters were seriously craving a hamburger for a few days by now, so as soon as they saw the sign, they gravitated right for it. Girl Jordan had no issues with this, as Larchton didn't have a Burpin Burger and she used to love that place. They ordered their food and sat down at the patio seats so they could feed their pokemon at the same time. The food tasted amazing after several days of a limited diet. However, during their meal, they discovered Princess loved strawberry milkshakes after Lola shared a little of hers with the Frillish. This, of course, led the floating pokemon to want more. "Hey! Stay back! I said you could have a taste! One taste!" The prissy twin tried to keep Princess held back with one hand as she held the cup out of tentacle reach with her other hand.

"I feel like I should do something about this," an amused Lincoln said as he sipped on his soda and watched the scene unfold.

"Probably," Jordan agreed, finishing up her order of fries. "Are you?"

"In a moment." He responded, which got a giggle from his friend. Lana, on the other hand, was just laughing like a hyena at the sight. What they didn't know was Lincoln was recording this all take place. He suspected when Lola found out about this, she would have his head for it, but the family would probably get a kick out of this. As the pink jellyfish and the Loud in pink became more aggressive with their offense and defense, the one son decided to step in, pulling Princess back. "You know you shouldn't have too much, Princess. You could get sick."

"I'll take my chances." Princess replied, with Lana translating and struggling against her trainer.

"...Tell you what. Next time we go to a restaurant that has milkshakes, I'll get you a little milkshake all your own if you leave Lola be." He offered, which gave the many tentacled pokemon pause for thought.

"...promise?"

"Promise." Princess mulled this over for a moment, then nodded. She seemed satisfied, and so did Lola.

* * *

Once their meal was finished, the group recalled their pokemon and made their way to the Pokemon Center closest to the Glenvale Gym. Unlike the one on Route Two, this center was MUCH larger, which included free rooms for licensed trainers, a counter for the PokeMart, and a series of machines on the second floor all crowded with trainers. To the left was a similar machine they saw back at Lisa's lab (the one that looked like a giant pokeballs with pipes sticking out at either side). In the center was a series of computers set in front of a massive holographic device which was showing an image of the globe with several tiny red dots scattered across the world. Beside each dot showed an image of a pokemon with some information beside it. To the right was a contraption similar to the first, but instead of the pipes, it had a hatch in the front of it, with a monitor and keyboard attached. They considered for a moment checking them out while they were waiting for their pokemon to get healed, but it was far too crowded up there and they were too tired. They could investigate later. "Excuse me, Nurse," Lincoln started to ask as the pink haired nurse returned Lana's pokemon to her. "Does the Pokemon Center have any rooms left?"

"Oh yes, young man," She told him with a soft smile and a nod. "We only have two rooms left, but they're big enough for two people each."

"Thank you, ma'am," He answered before he looked back to his sisters and his friend.

"Looks like we'll each have to share rooms," Girl Jordan commented. Lola and Lana considered taking this as an opportunity to get Lincoln and Jordan together, possibly help boost their relationship. However, they quickly dispelled this idea without saying a word to one another, as if they were speaking telepathically. Might be too soon for such a step, they both thought, and Lincoln might get the idea they were meddling.

"I'll stay with Linc," The animal loving twin offered. She had no issues sharing a room with her brother, and thought Lola would be more comfortable with Girl Jordan as a roommate, and vice versa.

"Guess it's you and me, Lola," The teen girl with the light brown hair said with a light smile. The four trainers all nodded in agreement as they all headed off for the rooms provided by the pokemon healthcare facility. The rooms were very basic: with two beds, one closet, and one small television with local channels, and a bathroom. Still, they weren't going to argue with a free room for the night, especially after several days of camping. Lola was laying on her own bed, looking like it was the most comfortable place to sleep in the world. "You look happy," Jordan commented with a light giggle.

"I am. I really don't like camping much," The prissy princess wanna be admitted. "At least, not with tents and sleeping bags."

"Weren't you and Lana in the Bluebells?" The dodgeball champ asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, yes," Lola responded, sitting up and looking surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Lana told me a few nights ago."

"Oh...yeah, we were, and it was a lot of fun, but I couldn't stand the camping part," The blonde haired, short tempered teen explained. "It took me bringing an air mattress and jumbo sized tent just to tolerate it. Lana loved it though."

"Hehe. I got that impression about her," Jordan responded as she pulled out her phone to check her messages.

"Soooo...you've known Lincoln a while, right?" Lola inquired innocently, making it seem like a throwaway question.

"Not as long as you, I wager," She answered, the two girls giggling a little. "But seriously, I've known him all through our time in school, up until my family moved to Larchton."

"Curiosity question: what did you think of him then?" Jordan paused for a moment, lowering her phone as she thought about that question for a moment.

"I thought he was a nice enough guy. Bit of a nerd, but so was Clyde. Couldn't play dodgeball to save his life. But he was nice, kind of smart, quick on his feet, and kind of funny too. Not to mention caring." She looked over at Lola with a smile. "I mean, holding off on his journey to help his family and care for his little sisters? I can't think of many siblings that would do that."

"Oh, he is definitely caring," Lola agreed. "He's always made time for all of us, even his older sisters. He even coached me through my whole pageant career."

"No way! Really?" Girl Jordan looked utterly amazed at her.

"Honest. Linky had my back through every pageant I went to: he learned all about beauty pageants, helped me with my makeup, even cheered on me from the audience."

"Wow. I would never have guessed that about Lincoln. I mean, no boy I know would put that much effort learning about something like pageants like that."

"Don't I know it. And that's not all. He's helped out all of us with our hobbies and learned a lot too. Me with my pageants, Luna with her music, Leni with her fashion...well, before they moved out, that is...Lynn with sports-"

"Whoa whoa whoa. I'm going to stop you right there." Jordan interrupted her with a disbelieving smirk. "I've seen Lynn play. Do you really expect me to believe that Lincoln helped her and picked up sports tips from her?"

"-Ok, I see what you mean, but seriously, he did. I never said he ended up becoming good at these hobbies as a result. Just that he learned." Lola replied with a shrug.

"Fair enough. Still, Lincoln's more multifaceted than I thought. I always thought he was all about video games and comic books," The girl with the light brown hair commented, laying back on her pillow. "You think you know a guy…"

"To be fair, he kinda still is...and pokemon, but aren't we all?" Lola laughed softly before she continued. "But I bet you could teach him a thing or two about that."

"Hmm?"

"About pokemon. Afterall, you've had about a five year head start on him." Girl Jordan shuddered a bit and felt an ill feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh...yeah…" She replied, almost glumly, but then followed up with more cheer than warranted (with just a hint of nerves), "But he's a really bright guy. He already seems to have the hang of it, and I'm sure he can come up with all kinds of tricks of his own." She was sweating a little as she took a sidelong glance at Lola.

"True. He is the man with the plan, after all." Lola said with a nod, not really taking note of her tone. Jordan breathed a sigh of relief with this as she pulled her trainer card from the case on her phone. On it, it had her name, birthday, a picture of her, and eight blank spaces on the lower half. However, her eyes were focused on the date issued: about two weeks before she met up with Lincoln and his sisters. She cringed, then put her trainer card back into the case. "So, what's your plan, Jordan? As a trainer, I mean."

"Oh. Well, I'm thinking I'll take a crack at the Micha League Tournament and try to dethrone the champion," Girl Jordan answered, pleased at the change of subject.

"I wish you good luck with that...but not too much," Lola told her. "After all, I'll be cheering Linky on too, as he tries to be number one himself."

* * *

The next morning, the one son was still asleep when Lana had woken up. He didn't necessarily need to be up early, so he hadn't set an alarm, and his sister didn't have the heart to wake up (since she knew Princess would wake him up when she was ready). Besides, seeing the floating pokemon hugging her trainer in her sleep was positively adorable, so she left them alone while she went to go shower. By the time she had finished, gotten dressed and emerged from the bathroom, Lincoln had woken up on his own, but Princess had not. "Morning, Linc," She greeted him with a smile.

"Morning, Lana," He responded as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Heh. To think, we used to have to fight you tooth and nail to get you to take a bath." Both he and his sister laughed a little at that.

"Times change, bro," She responded. "I'mma head out and get some breakfast, maybe check out the stuff on the second floor."

"Sounds like a plan, Lana. I'll meet you and the others later over by the gym."

"Ok. See you later, Linc." The hat wearing twin waved to her older brother before she emerged from her room. She didn't see Lola or Girl Jordan out and about yet, so she decided she'd go check out the machines upstairs while she waited for them. The crowd was much thinner than it was the other night; the first was currently not being used, and the third only had a small line. However, the array of consoles in the center still seemed the most popular, surrounded by trainers young and old. She was considering looking over their shoulders to see what they were up to when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned to her left and saw an eight year old boy in a hat much like hers, in a t shirt that was way too big for him and shorts.

"Hey...do you have a Pikachu you'd be willing to trade?" He asked hopefully.

"Trade?" She asked in return.

"Yeah. You know. Exchange one pokemon for another." The child explained. "I had gotten a pokemon from surprise trading a few days back, but my mother won't even let it into the house, so I have to trade it away..."

"Surprise trading? What's that?"

"What are you? New?" The young boy asked, somewhat rudely.

"...yeah, actually." Lana replied with a frown.

"...oh. Well, you see that machine over there?" He pointed over to the device to the far right. "You can trade with anyone in the world with that one, but it's completely at random. You could get anything from anyone. You just put a pokemon in, and get a new, surprise one in return, hence the name."

"Cool! I gotta try it sometime." She said, grinning as she looked over to the pokeball shaped trade machine. "Hmm...a new, surprise pokemon...for a Pikachu," she mused for a moment, the little one looking at her with big eyes as she thought. She wasn't sure what she thought about the idea of trading pokemon, but she had to admit that she didn't really use that Pikachu of hers much, if at all. Plus: New pokemon. "Well, I guess…" She finally answered, pulling her Pikachu's pokeball from her belt.

"Great!" The eight year old ran over to the oversized pokeball with the pipes at either end.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"To the trade machine. Come on." He motioned her over as he put his pokeball under the right pipe. Lana was a little confused, but followed suit, putting her Pikachu's ball under the left pipe.

"See you later, Pikachu...hope you have lots of fun with him," The animal loving Loud said, tearing up a little as she watched the pokeball get sucked up into the machine. A screen turned on in the center of the pokeball, showing two silhouettes of pokemon: her Pikachu heading to the right, and a blob like pokemon moving to her side. Within a matter of seconds, the trade was complete, the boy snatching up the Pikachu's pokeball as soon as it landed.

"Thanks! Oh, and don't let that pokemon out in here. The nurse won't like it," He said quickly before he bolted.

"...Did I just get ripped off?" Lana asked herself, looking at the red and white sphere in her hand. As she was returning to the first floor, her twin and Girl Jordan were just about to leave.

"Morning Lana," they called to her.

"Morning," she responded, sounding kind of out of it.

"Something wrong, Lana?" Lola inquired with a tilted head.

"I just traded one of my pokemon to someone...but after they got my Pikachu, they ran away and said not to open the ball in here," She explained to them. This set off alarm bells in Lola and Girl Jordan's mind, who both looked serious.

"Let's go check this out," Jordan said firmly, gesturing to the front door. She had a feeling it was the kid avoiding a possible trade back, but it sounded very suspect. Lola was about ready to go hunting down this kid; no one scams her sister but her. But first, she needed evidence. The moment they emerged from the center, Lola took the pokeball from her sister and tossed it in front of them all. In a flash of light, a small, oozing gray pokemon appeared. It has a mischievous look in it's eyes and a yellow glob along its chin. Lola recoiled in horror at the sight, while Lana looked at it in surprised interest.

"What is that?" Lana wondered aloud as she scanned it with her pokedex.

"Grimer, the Sludge Pokemon," her pokedex replied robotically.

"Grimer? It's not like any Grimer I've ever seen…"

"This particular pokemon is the Alola variant. Brought to Alola to solve the garbage problem, Grimer seems to relish any and all kinds of trash. There are a hundred or so of them living in Alola's waste-disposal site. They're all hard workers who eat a lot of trash. This Grimer is Male, with the Gluttony ability. He also possesses the egg move Curse."

"Cool! A trash eating pokemon!" The handy person twin exclaimed excitedly. "Who would want to trade him away?"

"Ugh! A trash eating pokemon!" The pageant princess cringed in disgust. "Who would want that?"

"Heh. I think you both answered your own questions," Girl Jordan responded with a soft chuckle. "And I think I see why that kid was so eager to trade him away. Grimers are known for being dirty, toxic pokemon."

"Grimer," The blobby pokemon responded with a shrug.

"Still, I wonder where that kid got it. Alolan form pokemon are very rare around here."

"He said he had done some surprise trading. He probably got it from a trainer from Alola through that," The proud new trainer of an Alolan Grimer told her.

"They have a surprise trading machine in there? I thought only the major cities got those." Jordan commented in surprise. "It must be new…"

"Please tell me you aren't planning to keep it…" Lola whined as her twin leaned down close to the mound of sludge.

"You bet your sweet bippi I am," Lana replied enthusiastically. "Welcome to the crew, Flan."

"Grimer!" The trash eating monster cheered in response.

"...I'll never be able to eat flan again." The prissy twin groaned, turning a little green.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Pokemon Center, the one son was taking an opportunity to get a shower of his own, while Princess was still sleeping soundly. The feeling of the hot water against his skin was so luxurious that he nearly fell asleep again right in the shower. He resisted that urge however and, about twelve minutes later, emerges from the shower to start drying off. As he did so, he failed to notice two things: first, the window (which was somewhat small and at about head level) was open slightly. Not a big deal; it let out the steam and aired out the bathroom. However, there were also a pair of long red and white ears sticking up from just under the window. He finished drying and wrapped the towel around his waist before wiping the steam off of the mirror over the sink.

He took a good look at himself within the reflective surface. He was still kind of scrawny looking, with only a vague hint of muscles on his arms and legs. His stomach had a slight pudge to it, but he was far from fat. Still, it was hardly a six pack. 'More like a juice box…' He thought to himself as he looked at it. It wasn't something he really concerned himself with back home, but now...being out of the house to make his way in this crazy world he called home...he started to feel a little more self conscious about his body. He looked up to his face and smiled slightly. "At least I got the Loud family good looks." He muttered with a light chuckle. Just then, he felt the towel get swiped right off of him. "Huh? Hey!" He turned quickly to see a little red and white rabbit running back toward the window with the towel, springing back out the window. The one son ran to the window, his cheeks kind of red as he glared out at the bunny pokemon. It had stopped a few feet from the window, turning and laughing, waving the towel as if taunting him. "Why you…" He grumbled, about to attempt to climb out of the window, but he froze before his leg was halfway to the window. "...Lincoln, use your common sense." He told himself, his face turning even more red.

* * *

Seconds later, the white haired boy was giving chase through the streets and alleys of Glenvale, wearing a pair of jeans and slippers, trying to catch the rabbit that stole the Pokemon Center's towel. The little long eared pocket monster was running well ahead of him, laughing all the way. "Get back here, you!" Lincoln called out. Being the target of bullies in his youth and living in the Loud House, he could run fairly fast when he needed to. He could just about catch up with Lynn at his best when she was only half trying. However, he didn't have the endurance to keep it up for long, so he needed to run smarter if he were to catch this little towel thief. Unfortunately for him, the rabbit was not only quick, but clever in his own right. It would use its size, speed and agility to its advantage; ducking under benches, dodging between trash cans and dumpsters, and slipping between the legs of passersby, forcing its pursuer to slow down to go around the obstacles, and apologize for nearly running into the people he nearly ran into.

When they reached a straight, open stretch sidewalk, he took the opportunity to start sprinting after the fleeing pokemon. To the bunny's surprise, the middle Loud was starting to gain on it. It didn't seem too alarmed by the fact though; in fact, it was grinning as he got closer. The red and white lapin was about to speed up as Lincoln's hands got closer to it...when he suddenly stopped. The pokemon skidded to a halt a few feet further along, looking back at the white haired lad as he was doubled over, trying to catch his breath. The rabbit tilted his head a little before jogging over to Lincoln. "Scorbunny?" It asked him.

"You're...asking me if...I'm ok?" He inquired in return between gasps for air. The bunny nodded in reply. "Yeah...I'm fine. I...just need a moment." The pokemon nodded in reply and just stood there, swaying to the left and right a bit as it waited for him. Lincoln was very much surprised. Why was this long eared pokemon giving him a chance to recover like that? Then it hit him. The Scorbunny wasn't being malicious, at least not intentionally; it was just playing. As he started to get his strength back, the one son started to plan his next move. When it seemed the rabbit wasn't paying attention, he lunged at it. The pokemon wasn't startled by his sudden move, instead hopping out of his reach. While he missed the rabbit, he did get the towel, which was his goal to begin with. Scorbunny blinked, then smiled, walking over and holding out a hand paw to him.

"Scor scor," It said to him.

"Huh? Oh, thanks," The white haired boy said, shaking the little pokemon's hand.

"Scor!" It suddenly exclaimed as it yoinked the cloth from his hand and bolted down the sidewalk.

"Huh? Oh, for the love of...how did I fall for that one?" Lincoln scolded himself as he got to his feet. "...if I'm going to catch that rabbit, I'm going to need to wear him out. Hmmm…" He tapped his chin as he pondered the issue. How would his sisters deal with him when he was too full of energy to calm down or stop?

* * *

Back with the Loud twins and Girl Jordan, they had just finished having breakfast at a waffle house a stone throws away from the center. "Mmmm. Those were some great waffles," Lana commented, licking her lips.

"I agree. I especially liked the fresh strawberries in the syrup," Lola said with a smile.

"Princess would have probably loved that too," Jordan added, carrying a carryout container with her. "Speaking of, think your brother is up and out yet?"

"He was awake when I was heading out-" Lana started to say, but then they witnessed something very off: Princess had just floated through the wall of the Pokemon Center, looking frantically, eyes filled with tears and looking on the verge of a panic attack. The moment the pink Frillish spotted them, she flew over to them, sobbing and babbling in pokemon.

"Princess? What's wrong?" The once popular girl asked in concern.

"Frillfrillfrillishfrillfriishillishfrillishfririllishillishfrillfrillllllll!" The distraught pokemon spat out rapidly before tears poured from her eyes like fountains.

"...I can't understand her the way she's speaking…" The tool savvy twin admitted with a frown. "Princess, you need to calm down," She told her firmly, taking hold of the jellyfish with both hands and making her face her. "Take a deep breath, slow down, and try again. We can't help you if we can't understand you." The Frillish sniffled a few times and whimpered, but eventually, took a calming breath and spoke again. "She said she woke up this morning and Lincoln wasn't there. She looked all around the room and nothing. Knocked on the bathroom door, no response. Looked out into the Pokemon Center. No sign of him. She says he left her all alone."

"That doesn't sound like Lincoln at all…" The beauty centered sister said with a frown. "We better check this out. Follow me."

"Here. You can ride on my back for the trip," Lana offered the sobbing Princess, who took up her offer, clinging to her back as the trio of trainers ran to Lincoln and Lana's room at the center. When they arrived, they spotted a few things that worried them right off the bat: almost all of Lincoln's belongings were still there. The Loud in pink ran to the bathroom door and checked it. It was still locked, yet she couldn't hear any water running.

"Lana...we need this door open yesterday," She instructed, looking serious. Her twin nodded, running over to the door and looking over the door knob and lock for a moment. She narrowed her eyes a bit as she considered her options, then pulled out her trainer card and slid it between the door and the frame. Within a few seconds of fiddling with it, the lock popped open. Lola shoved the bathroom door open and found the bathroom empty, which did nothing to ease their fears.

"Where could he have gone?" Girl Jordan asked, scanning the room from the door as Lola checked the closet and Lana the window. The shower curtain was open and clearly empty, but there were signs it was used, so Lincoln was there earlier.

"The window sill is kind of damp still." The animal loving Loud commented.

"And it looks like his clothes are over here…" Lola said, pointing to where Lincoln left his change of clothes. "And I don't see any sign of a struggle...is he running around naked again?" Girl Jordan could hardly stop herself, nearly guffawing when she heard that.

"Again? Does this happen often?" She asked, a few giggles slipping out. Lola froze a bit, having forgotten that she was right there. Not wishing to ruin her brother's chances with this girl by making him look like a weirdo, she quickly went into damage control mode.

"Er...well, no," She answered, truthfully and nervously. "It only happened once or twice, by accident." Lana kind of side glared at her sister at that response, thinking,

'Yeah...accidents caused by you or Luan…'

"At least we can assume he's alright," The pageant princess said quickly, in an effort to change the subject. "Probably around town somewhere. If we split up, we should find him."

"Right. I'll check around downtown, near the southern exit. Maybe he's chasing down a rare pokemon or something," Girl Jordan commented as she turned to leave, snickering as she added in her mind. 'Possibly in just a towel. Hehehe.'

"You had to say that…" Lana growled at her sister as she climbed out of the window herself to try and trace Lincoln's steps.

"I didn't mean to...it was a slip of the tongue…" Lola defended herself, looking apologetic, though her twin wasn't having it at the moment, just hurrying off to find her brother.

* * *

A couple seconds later into the chase, the Scorbunny had ducked between a pizza restaurant and a flower shop, hidden behind a steel can and giggling. It was sitting on top of the towel as it waited and listened for Lincoln. It slowly peeked around the can, eyes glancing up and down the street seeking out the human chasing after him. The rabbit was so focused on the street in front of it that it never saw the white haired trainer creeping up behind it from the other side of the alley. It only realized this when it saw his shadow over him, but by then, it was too late. The Scorbunny quickly turned just as Lincoln grabbed him by the sides. "Gotcha!"

"Scor!" The bunny cried out before it burst out laughing as the one son gently squeezed its sides.

"Like laughing at me, huh? Let's see how funny you find this," Lincoln said, tickling the little red and white pokemon as it wiggled about in his grasp. He gently set the rabbit creature down, but didn't relent, skittering his fingers all around its belly as he sat down on his own knees. The Scorbunny was in absolute hysterics, curling up into a ball and twisting to each side. When it did that, the middle Loud simply went to a new target: back to its sides, its ribs, its feet. The long eared towel snatcher went absolutely nuts at the last one, tears of laughter spilling from its eyes as it flailed its arms around. That was when enough was enough in Lincoln's perspective as he put an end to his tickling assault, leaving Scorbunny rolling on the ground laughing. "Ok. Ok. That's more than enough. Calm down, little one," He said gently. It took a couple seconds for the pokemon to calm down. Lincoln suspected that the playful pocket monster would be good and tired now. He couldn't have been more wrong.

The one son leaned forward to make sure the bunny was alright when it quickly sprang to his feet and rushed him. He was so startled that he couldn't react in time as Scorbunny ran its tiny fingers all over his stomach. "Bwahahahahahahahahahahaa!" Lincoln laughed helplessly before he tried to catch the rabbit pokemon, but it was too quick for him, swiftly dodging around behind him. It was tickling him back the same way he had tickled it, only it was running all around him to accomplish this. And any time the white haired boy made a grab for the Scorbunny, it zipped away to attack him from another angle. It even swiped his slippers to get at his soles. Within seconds, the little rabbit had the much larger trainer on his back, tickled near to the point of utter exhaustion. "Hahahahahaha! I give up! You win!" He cried out, his face turning a little red. Scorbunny smiled and started to do a little hopping dance as it threw its little arms up in celebration. "...don't you ever get tired?"

"I doubt it," Girl Jordan commented, in a fit of giggles of her own at the sight, and she wasn't the only one. Lincoln's face turned a beet red as he turned to see his friend, his sisters, and Princess standing right there, chortling at his position.

"...how long have you been there?"

"Since the bunny had you pinned," Lana confessed, making Lincoln groan in embarrassment.

"Serves you right for leaving me all by myself," Princess said with Lana translating.

"Sorry Princess...but this pokemon stole that towel right off of me at the Pokemon Center…" He gestured to the Scorbunny beside him, who waved to them all.

"What's that?" Lana asked curiously as she and her sister drew their pokedexes to scan the pokemon.

"Scorbunny, the rabbit pokemon. A warm-up of running around gets fire energy coursing through this Pokémon's body. Once that happens, it's ready to fight at full power. This particular Scorbunny is a male."

"Aww. He's a little cutie," Lola commented, smiling at the happy little rabbit.

"Not to mention a little bundle of energy...he could put that battery powered rabbit from the commercial to shame," Lincoln added as he got up from the ground and grabbed the towel. Before they could start to leave, Scorbunny took hold of the other end of the cloth like it was a tug of war.

"Scor scor scor…" The red and white hare said, looking sadly up at the white haired trainer.

"I think the little guy has gotten attached to that towel," Girl Jordan theorized, watching the rabbit pulling with all his might.

"But this towel belongs to the Pokemon Center…" He looked back at Scorbunny, who was looking up at him with big, sad eyes. 'Oh no...here we go again…' The one son thought to himself, wincing at the sight of his greatest weakness. However, an idea came to him rather quickly. "How about this, Scorbunny?" He started to suggest, kneeling down to get closer to his level. "You let me take the towel back to the center, and I'll get you a brand new towel or blanket or something of the like. How does that sound?" The little lapin looked up to the sky as he pondered that deal for a moment, but then nodded with a big, bright smile. "Alright. Let's just bring this back and let me get my stuff, and we'll head to the store." He gave the Scorbunny a pat on the head before he started to walk back toward the Pokemon Center, Princess looking all pouty and huffy as she followed close behind.

* * *

A few minutes later, the one son (in his usual outfit and with all his gear) stepped into the nearest Mass Spaces store, with the Scorbunny in his arms. He had a feeling the store wouldn't take too kindly to a wild pokemon in the building, so he opted to carry him. The two look around the business for a moment, passing aisles of snacks, sodas, juice, office supplies, and pet food. They were just passing an aisle of baby care items when the rabbit pokemon jumped from his arms and skipped along the shelves. "Huh? Where are you going, Scorbunny?" Lincoln asked as Scorbunny stopped in front of a variety of baby blankets. His eyes were on a little lavender blanket, examining it critically before he ran his little paw across it and shaking his head. He touched the baby blue cloth next to it and nodded a little. He liked how it felt, but didn't seem to like the color. He tried it a few more times with each blanket he could reach, a frown spreading on his face as he didn't seem satisfied with any of them. He looked upward and his eyes lit up at the sight of a single orange colored blanket. The only problem was it was too high up for him.

"Scor scor?" The rabbit pokemon asked, pointing up at the blanket.

"Need a lift?" Lincoln asked as he gently lifted the Scorbunny up to the blanket. He chuckled a little as the bunny brushed his paw along the orange cloth. He seemed to like how it felt. He took the blanket from the shelf and nuzzled it with his cheek.

"Scorbunny!" The pokemon exclaimed cheerfully. Looked like they had a winner. They proceeded to head to checkout and pay for Scorbunny's new blanket before heading outside to reunite with his sisters, friend, and the cranky looking Frillish.

"Did he find something he liked?" Lola inquired. She got her answer when the rabbit pokemon hopped out of Lincoln's arms and proudly showed off his new blanket. This brought a chorus of Awwwws from the twins and Girl Jordan as they all converged on the adorable little pokemon. Princess huffed even louder, angrily looking away from the scene. Lincoln's eyes turned to his starter; he knew the look of jealousy when he saw it, and it was written all over her pink face.

"Princess, you don't need to be jealous over Scorbunny," He told her softly as he walked over to the floating pokemon.

"Frill ill frillish…?" She responded snippily. Lana was too busy doting over Scorbunny to translate, but Lincoln felt he got the gist of it.

"I've lived with a LOT of siblings. I know what jealousy looks like," He informed her, which only made her hmph again. "Yeah, he's getting a lot of attention now, but you're still my first pokemon; my partner," He continued, gently putting an arm around her. "And no one, person or pokemon, can take that away from you."

"Frill...Frill…" The Frillish said, gently nodding her head.

"Not only that, but you're the only pokemon who can ride on my back, right?"

"Fri frill rillish…" Princess answered with a soft giggle. "Frill fri frill, frillish."

"...I thought we talked about that steed stuff…" He muttered in annoyance, which made Princess laugh.

"Huh? Are you talking with Princess without Lana translating?" Lola asked in complete surprise, all eyes turning to them. The one son blinked in surprise when he realized he had.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Her brother responded.

"That's not surprising," Girl Jordan interjected with a smile. "The longer trainers and pokemon work and exist together, the better their bond, and the better they understand one enough. Even if we can't always understand what a pokemon is saying -certain exceptions aside, of course." Lana smiled proudly.

"So...what are you going to do about the Scorbunny?" The hat wearing twin asked, the little rabbit tilting his head curiously. Lincoln thought about this for a moment.

'Hmmm. He is a quick and wiley pokemon…' He thought. 'I wonder if he could be strong in battle.' The one son smiled as he turned to Princess. "What do you think, Princess?" The pink frillish looked at the red and white rabbit with a certain amount of disdain...until she witnessed the bunny turn his blanket into a little cape. The twins and Jordan once more expressed their adoration of the hare, Lola recording him with her pokedex, and even the jellyfish creature couldn't help but smile at it. However, she did have an image to maintain, so she quickly looked kind of snootily at Lincoln and answered,

"Fri frillish fri…" The white haired boy nodded and turned his attention to Scorbunny.

"Hey, Scorbunny." The rabbit pokemon hopped over to the middle Loud, smiling up at him. "How would you like to join our team?"

"Team?" Scorbunny asked, with Lana's help. He looked kind of confused.

"My team of pokemon. It would require quite a lot of battling, if you're ok with that…" The rabbit grinned and started punching at the air, showing he was all set for battling.

"Eeeeee! He's so cute, I think I'm gonna faint," Lola squeed with delight.

"Hehehe. As I was saying, the battling may get a little rough sometimes. If you think you can handle it, though, we'd be more than happy to have you in our little family."

"Scor…?" The bunny pokemon asked before his eyes got all big and starry again, before he sprang up to Lincoln and hugged his chest, much to the young man's surprise. "...Bunny!"

"...Lola, please tell me you got that," Lana said quietly, looking like she had witnessed the most beautiful thing she ever saw.

"Sure did. What just happened?" The pageant princess asked, wondering what she was missing.

"...Scorbunny just called Lincoln 'Daddy'." Princess was frowning slightly as Lola and Lana squeed in stereo once more, her jealousy returning again. However, Scorbunny wasn't done yet. He looked over at Princess, jumped off Lincoln and threw his little arms around her as well, much to her shock.

"Mommy!" The Frillish blinked as she looked down at the bunny holding her closely. This was enough to melt her heart (wherever it was) as she smiled and wrapped her tentacles around Scorbunny as well. The one son looked pleased as he pulled an empty pokeball from his bag, pressing the button to activate it. Seeing he was ready to catch Scorbunny, the ghost/water pokemon set the rabbit down and floated back, pointing over at her trainer. He turned around, looking at the red and white ball with interest.

"Alright then...here we go!" Lincoln hurled the pokeball toward the young fire pokemon. As the ball got close, Scorbunny kicked the sphere into the air and proceeded to start juggling it off his feet, knees and his head. He laughed as he played with the catching device. "...not quite what I thought would happen," Just then, Scorbunny's forehead contacted the center button, causing the ball to spring open and absorb the rabbit pokemon with a bright red light. The ball hardly even moved before it clicked, indicating a successful catch. The one son smiled as he walked over to the ball and picked it up. "Welcome to the family, Scorbunny."

* * *

_AN: Just as a side note, I didn't really plan for this chapter to prominently feature a rabbit pokemon so close to Easter. It's more a coincidence. Also, special thanks to Neon Starch for the suggestion of Scorbunny._

_Main Characters current pokemon teams:_

_Lincoln_

_Frillish aka Princess  
Water Ghost  
Ability: Cursed Body  
_

_Pidove  
Normal Flying  
Ability: Super Luck_

_Scorbunny  
Fire  
Ability: Blaze_

_Lola_

_Furfrou aka Brittany_  
_Normal_  
_Ability: Fur Coat_

_Pichu aka Brat_  
_Electric_  
_Ability: Static_  
_Egg Move: Volt Tackle_

_Litleo aka Isabella  
Fire/Normal  
Ability: Rivalry_

_Lana_

_Tympole aka Hops_  
_Water_  
_Ability: Hydration_

_Spewpa aka Dusty_  
_Bug  
__Ability: Shield Dust_

_Bidoof aka Nibbles  
Normal  
Ability: Unaware_

_Mankey  
Fighting  
Ability: Vital Spirit_

_Alolan Grimer aka Flan  
Poison/Dark  
Ability: Gluttony_

_Girl Jordan_

_Timburr_  
_Fighting_  
_Ability: Guts_

_Pinsir_  
_Bug_  
_Ability:Mold Breaker_


	6. Chapter 6: Rodge's Way

_AN: A quick response to a few comments before we start the story._

_Guest: Thank you for your chapter suggestion, but I'm afraid not. However, there will still be plenty of Lola vs Lindsey moments in the future, along with another._

_Gamelover41592: Buneary may still join his team later on. Just have to see what happens._

_Also, quick question: Is the language used in this chapter enough for an M, or is a T still fine?_

* * *

Rodge's Way

Before Lincoln would make his way to the Glenvale Gym, he desperately needed something to eat, since he spent most the morning chasing Scorbunny. He stopped at a donut shop to grab a quick breakfast and a cup of iced coffee, as well as a strawberry jam filled donut for Princess. "I can't believe you drink that stuff…" Lola commented in disgust as she looked at the plastic drink cup.

"I'm as surprised as you are," Lincoln replied as he sipped his drink. "But if it's made right, it's pretty good, and their iced coffee is just right."

"He's right, you know," Girl Jordan interjected. "Though I prefer Cosmocent's dark chocolate/caramel blendaccino. Only problem is it's so expensive."

"I'll stick to smoothies, thank you very much," The pageant princess retorted in a somewhat snooty manner.

"To each their own," Her brother said with a shrug as he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Lisa, telling her he was about to enter the gym.

"Excellent. The Glenvale Gym is one of the current prime suspects in my suspicions," Lisa texted in return. "Originally, the gym leader held a positively brutal fail rate of 99%, i.e. practically every trainer who faced him was defeated."

"99%!? That's insane…"

"The league agreed, and requested he take it a little easier, as Glenvale is where most trainers start their gym challenge. However, a little less than a year ago, his failure rate became the success rate. Now it seems impossible for prospective trainers to lose." Lincoln frowned lightly as he read this message. Now how could that be?

"What's up, Linc?" His once classmate asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing. Just a bit of a brain teaser," He responded, which was half true. To him, this was a head scratcher; one that could only be solved by heading to the gym. Speaking of, the building in question was right ahead. It was a mostly marble and steel building, dome shaped with a black and white pokeball sign hanging over the massive door that could fit a Snorlax. Very basic and bland, as Lola pointed out, but it wasn't supposed to be pretty. It was supposed to be strong enough to support pokemon battles. Lincoln pulled the door open, revealing the inside was as basic as the outside; a sprawling dirt floor with painted on lines indicating the boundaries. The field was littered with rocks and a few boulders. To their right, they saw a large window that was nearly the entire length of the wall, except for a door clear across the stadium. None of them could see through the window, except for two figures silhouetted in the glass. One was a mountain of a person, nearly seven feet tall with a barrel chest, and built like Atlas. The other was a small, more slender and shapely. Something about this figure seemed familiar to the Louds, but they couldn't put their finger on it. The smaller of the two walked over to the door on the opposite side of the gym. When it opened, the three were in for a big surprise: out walked their older sister, Leni.

She still had her hair as she had it at sixteen and wore her sunglasses on her head. She wore a small white jacket with a white tank top underneath that couldn't cover her slender stomach. On her legs were black stretch pants, with black sneakers on her feet. Far from the usual outfit for the fashionable sister. Her face was lightly made up, with a little lipstick on her lips, and she looked stressed, saddened and very nervous. "Leni?" They all ask in unison.

"Lincoln? Lola? Lana?" She responded in shock, before the smile they all knew and loved returned to her face. The twins smile in return and rush across the battlefield, with Leni meeting them halfway, the three of them sharing a big hug. "I totes missed you guys!"

"We missed you too, Leni!" The twins replied loudly. Lincoln had remained where he had stood, a surprised and confused look on his face.

"Something wrong, Lincoln?" Jordan asked quietly, noticing his expression.

"I'm just surprised to see Leni here," He whispered back. "She never told us she was a gym leader...she doesn't even like battling."

"That is kind of strange…" Lincoln's old friend from school commented, looking over at the hugging trio as Leni looked toward the window wall and flinched before she let the twins go and stepped back from them.

"Ahem. I'm sorry, but unless this is official pokemon league business-"

"Actually, Leni, it is," Lincoln spoke up. "With the exception of Lola, we're here to challenge the Glenvale City Gym." Lana and Jordan nodded in confirmation.

"Oh. Well, you came to the right place," Leni said, her smile seeming to be more forced now. She moved back to her side of the gym, while Lola and Lana returned to her brother and his friend. "In accordian...I mean, accordance to the rules of the gym, each battle will be one on one. Who will be going first?" Lincoln turned to Lana and Girl Jordan.

"Ladies first."

"Such a gentleman," Jordan commented with a bit of a grin before looking at Lana. "Would you like to go first?"

"Sure!" The animal loving twin smiled broadly and ran over to the challenger's circle. "Ready or not, Leni, here I come! Go, Hops!" Out from his pokeball came the tadpole pokemon, full of pep and eagerness.

"Ok...I can do this…" Leni muttered to herself, pulling a pokeball from her pocket. "Come on out, Tauros." She gently tossed the ball ahead of her, causing it to burst and unleash a mean, powerful looking bull pokemon with three stonelike circles on its forehead and three tails. One look at the glaring bull made Hops sweat in fear.

"Tauros? That doesn't sound like a pokemon Leni would have…" Lincoln commented as he pulled out his pokedex.

"Tauros, the wild bull pokemon. This Pokémon is not satisfied unless it is rampaging at all times. If there is no opponent for Tauros to battle, it will charge at thick trees and knock them down to calm itself." Rip informed him.

"Stand strong, Hops! You got this!" Lana encouraged her tadpole pokemon, though she was shaking like a leaf herself.

"Ok...what are a Tauros' moves…?" Leni wondered out loud. "Oh yes. Tauros, use Take Down, please," She requested politely. The bull pokemon's eyes shifted toward the windowed wall for a moment, then grunted and planted its hooves. It didn't budge. "Tauros? Take Down, please." Lana blinked as the Tauros still refused to move.

"Hops, use Bubblebeam...I guess?" She instructed, a little uncertain. The Tympole nodded and spat a stream of bubbles from his mouth right at the bull pokemon. Tauros grunted as the beam struck it in the chest, the bovine pokemon soaked.

"...maybe he forgot how to do Take Down?" Leni muttered to herself. "Tauros, stomp please?" Once again, the pokemon disobeyed her, which led to another blast of bubbly water. "Headbutt? Tackle? Tail Whip?" The second oldest of the sisters started pleading, almost to the point of getting on her knees. However, the Tauros refused to even acknowledge her existence. It simply stood there as Hops barraged it with bubble beams until it couldn't fight anymore (not that the Tauros fought at all). Leni looked saddened as she recalled the fainted pokemon, while Lana had the look of disappointment. She may have won the battle, but what kind of battle was that? It was just plain unsatisfying. The kindly, yet dim blonde seemed to sense this, as she quietly said "Sorry…" as Lana stepped back.

"What do you think that was?" Lola whispered to her brother, a frown on her face as well.

"Possibly a new pokemon," Lincoln responded in a hushed voice. "Newly caught, or even powerful traded pokemon can be difficult to handle until they get used to their new trainer...or the Tauros is just a jerk. Can't really say."

"My turn," Girl Jordan said with a voice of confidence, stepping up to the challenger's circle. "Alright, Timburr, come on out!" She threw her faithful first's pokeball out into the field, releasing the Timburr, who looked ready to fight. Leni glanced fearfully to her left before she selected her next pokemon.

"...ok. Bouffalant, you're up…" When the ball burst open, a mighty buffalo pokemon with a big brown afro covering most of its head and long horns appeared opposite Timburr. Each horn had two gold like rings on them.

'Yet another pokemon I wouldn't associate with Leni...what's going on?' The one son wondered.

"Bouffalant, please use Headbutt,"

"Timburr, Low Kick!" Jordan instructed. Timburr nodded as he ran toward the much larger pokemon. Bouffalant lowered its head, ready to fight, but then its eyes darted to the left for a moment. The buffalo hesitated, glancing back at Leni, then back forward. It was hard to tell what it was thinking with all that hair covering its face, but one thing was clear: it wasn't moving either. The little fighter slid across the floor in a sliding kick, hitting the bison's leg dead on.

"Bouffalant, please...use Headbutt." Leni was about to start crying as the Bouffalant was then clubbed with Timburr's chunk of lumber. However, it still refused to budge.

"What gives? Why isn't Bouffalant fighting back?" Jordan wondered to herself, starting to get kind of perturbed by this. "I was expecting some kind of challenge from a pokemon gym…" Sadly, she was to be disappointed, as Timburr was basically unopposed. Despite the ditzy sister giving orders to the bash buffalo pokemon, it refused to act on them. In no time at all, Bouffalant was beaten into the ground, with the teen with light brown hair looking displeased and Leni looking positively downcast as she recalled her fallen pokemon.

"Something about this stinks worse than Lana used to…" Lola muttered as Lincoln stepped up to take his turn.

"Alright. Get ready for your first battle…" Lincoln said quietly as he picked his pokeball. "Go, Scorbunny!" In a flash of light, the newest member of his team appeared on the field, cheerfully hopping in place while wearing his little orange blanket as a cape.

"Aww. Isn't he just precious?" Leni cooed in adoration before she suddenly winced as if she remembered something very unpleasant. "I mean...uh...Kangaskhan, you're up," She said as she summoned forth a brown and tan, vaguely reptilian monster with a black scalp and a belly pouch like a kangaroo. The pouch in question was empty, which Lana took notice of almost immediately.

'I thought all Kangaskhan's always carried their children in their pouches…' She thought to herself as Scorbunny looked up at the parent pokemon, his little knees shaking.

"Ok, Kangaskhan...let's try a Double Edge, please," The second oldest of the Loud sisters requested kindly. Kangaskhan turned its head to the left after Leni had spoken, seeming visibly worried.

'First Leni, then Tauros, now Kangaskhan...what are they looking at?' Lincoln wondered as he turned to see what was up. The large, muscle bound shadow was standing right where they had all been glancing this whole time. The figure seemed to have its arms crossed and was probably watching the battle from the other side. 'Must be one way glass...but who is that?' While he was considering that mystery, Kangaskhan had turned its nose to Leni and folded its own arms. Just like the others, it was refusing to listen to her.

"Oh no...not you too, Kangaskhan…" Leni couldn't hold it in any longer, falling to her knees and sobbing into her hands. "Why won't any of them listen to me…?" She wondered aloud while she cried. It was the kind of sight to break a Loud sibling's heart, seeing Leni cry. It seemed to have an affect on the kangaroo-ish monster as well, a look of the utmost sympathy appearing on its face.

"Khan...Gaskhan, Kan Kangaskhan…" The pokemon spoke up with a heavy heart. Whatever it had said, it made Lana a combination of concerned, curious, and angry.

"Alright! That's enough of that!" A man's voice rang out through the gym. "I'm puttin' an end to this embarrassing display!" Lincoln, the twins, Jordan and Leni all jumped in surprise (or fright in Leni's case), as the shadow on the window wall stormed over to the door Leni had emerged from and kicked it open. Out came a man almost taller than Kangaskhan, looking like a bodybuilder who didn't know when to quit. He was wearing a black muscle shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. His hair was brown and very short. He had a scowl on his face as he glared daggers at Leni.

"Who's that guy?" Girl Jordan asked.

"Name's Rodge, kid. I'm the gym leader of Glenvale, soon to be ex-gym leader," The overly buff man explained, his eyes still boring into Leni, who was shaking fearfully in his presence. "Or at least, I would be...if you could do anything right!"

"Mr Rodge, I…" The fashion forward sister started to say.

"Can it, Loud! Ever since you got here, you've dragged the reputation of my gym right through the shitter…"

"Hey! Language!" Lincoln snapped, as both Lana and Lola gasped. "There are children present!"

"Save the sermon, padre. I'm not interested in listening," Rodge spat as he glanced toward Lincoln for a moment, before snapping back to the tearful young woman. "My gym went from being one that was rarely beaten to the one gym where you can't lose! You're an absolute disgrace as a trainer and as a gym leader!" He shouted into her face.

"But...but I can't get your pokemon to listen to me…" She whimpered.

'His pokemon?' The white haired boy thought internally.

"It's a piss poor trainer who blames the pokemon for the fact they're a failure," Rodge scolded her coldly. "If pokemon aren't listening to you, that's your fault! You're too soft! If you expect to get anywhere as a trainer and gym leader, you gotta toughen up! Show them who's the master!" He suddenly turned to the parent pokemon, who quickly assumed a battle stance while facing Scorbunny. "Kangaskhan! Mega Punch! Rock! NOW!" Without a moment's hesitation, the Kangaskhan threw a supercharged punch into the nearest boulder, causing it to shatter. The monster returned to a fighting stance, a tear in its eye and its fist very red. "See? Absolute obedience."

"Oh no...Kangaskhan, you aren't hurt, are-?"

"That hardly matters!" Rodge cut her off.

"How so!?" Lincoln demanded to know, his temper rising rapidly as his face started to turn red.

"This doesn't involve you, string bean...but if you must know, pokemon getting hurt is nothing new! They get hurt simply by battling, so what's the big deal!?"

"...I don't like this guy already," Lana commented in a growl.

"Me neither…" The one son agreed.

"Anyway, if the peanut gallery can shut the hell up...I think you need to learn a lesson, Loud!" The brawny gym leader thrust a finger back toward the door. "Get back there, get the cleaning supplies, and make this whole gym spotless! Then, rake the battlefield dirt, touch up the boundary paint, and glue that rock back together!"

"Gulp...yes, sir…" Leni squeaked, starting to shuffle away in sorrow.

"Hey! Brainless! You forgot something!" Rodge shouted as soon as she reached the opening. "Oh, nevermind. I'll deal with it. See if you can clean the place without screwing it up," He added cruelly before he reached into his pocket and tossed three tiny, metal badges toward Lincoln, Jordan and Lana. Each one was shaped like dumbbells "Yer Might Badges…" The hat wearing twin and the popular girl glared at Rodge as they picked up their badges. Lincoln, however, picked up his badge, then threw it right back at him.

"No," The one son growled, his temper one step away from boiling over. One of the many side effects of puberty upon him was a shortening of his fuse. He wasn't as bad as Lola, Lori or even Lynn, but still quicker to anger; and after an incident where he put his fist through the door to his old room (breaking his hand in the process), most of his sisters knew not to push his buttons too much. He could be a scary sight when pushed too far, not that his growing anger seemed to matter much to the brutish gym leader. "There was no battle between us, so I refuse to accept that badge."

"Just take it, you little prick. The munchkin and little lady did."

"They at least got to fight, even if it was one sided. Scorbunny didn't even get to fight before you butt in." A fact that seemed to get the little bunny down. "Come on, Scorbunny...let's get out of here…" The white haired trainer grumbled as he knelt down and picked up the rabbit pokemon, turning on his heel and leading the way out. Rodge simply grunted as he picked Lincoln's badge back up and threw it at his back. However, it was blocked by the door as Lola slammed it shut.

"Ugh...I can't believe that guy," The pageant princess groaned in disgust.

"What a jerk…" Her twin commented, her Tympole hopping along beside her.

"That's being too kind, Lana…" Their big brother said, steam billowing from his head.

"Frill frillish fri…" Princess said, shivering as she clung to Lincoln's back. The twins looked over to Lincoln and suddenly looked worried.

"Linky...calm down," Lola said as she ran over to him, taking hold of his hand not currently holding Scorbunny.

"I am calm," Lincoln replied quietly, yet angrily. "I may be really pissed off right now...but I am calm."

"Good, Linc. Let's stay that way. Deep, calming breaths." Lana told him, taking a few herself to get him gone.

"Girls...I appreciate what you're doing, but it's ok. I'm alright. I'm not quite THAT angry…" He reassured them, his face starting to return to his normal, somewhat pale skin. Jordan just looked surprised at them, clearly wondering what that was about. However, she didn't ask right now. She thought it would be better to wait until he calmed down. As they were leaving, Hops paused when he heard soft sobbing. He turned mid hop to see where it was coming from, and saw a little baby Kangaskhan sitting by a side door, crying quietly. Curious, the Tympole jumped his way over to the little one.

"Hello," Hops said, coming to stop in front of it.

"Sniff sniff...hello…"

"I'm Hops. What's your name?"

"...I don't have one...my momma's trainer doesn't think we need one…"

"Oh...why are you crying?"

"I wanna be with my momma...but I can't…" The little baby pokemon sniffled again.

"Oh...why is that?" Before the little one could answer, the door creaked open.

"Alright, rug rat...get in," Rodge grumbled from inside. Without hesitation, the pokemon toddled its way into the gym. Unable to contain his curiosity, Hops followed the baby Kangaskhan, trying to get in before the door closed. Fortunately, the foul tempered gym leader didn't notice the tadpole. Unfortunately, this meant the door ended up being closed with Hops still in the doorway. The poor Tympole squeaked like a rubber duck as the door was shut on him, which made Rodge pause for a moment, then shrugged and moved on. Hops managed to slip inside and looked around. He was in what looked like a kind of stable...and not a very well kept one at that. Not that it was filled with manure or anything, but it wasn't very clean. Not far away, the little one was reuniting with Kangaskhan, the two hugging closely, with the mother sobbing happily. Not far away, the cranky and soaked Tauros was leaning against a wall by an old feeding trough, looking like the pokemon equivalent of a back alley punk. Bouffalant was sitting in one of the stable stalls, eyes closed and looking like he was meditating. Hops quickly ducked into an empty space to avoid being seen as he listened to them talk.

"Oh, come off it, Khan…" Tauros grumbled after he listened to mother and child tell each other how much they missed each other. "It was only for a few hours. Not like you were never going to see him again…"

"Would you put it past Rodge, Tauros?" The buffalo pokemon inquired

"He may be strict, but he's not cruel," The bull pokemon retorted with a snort.

"Not cruel? He sends Junior outside whenever there are trainer battles," The reptile/kangaroo monster growled. "...outside. Not into the stable, but outside, all alone, where he could get caught by another trainer…"

"It should encourage you to battle quicker then…One hit, knock them out, just as our trainer demands."

"Just like how he demands we disobey that kind young human?" The mother pokemon asked, bitterness clear in her voice. Hops' eyes widened when he heard that. "That sweet young thing who took such good care of us…"

"It is for her own good. She needs to become tougher," Tauros said with a snort.

"He is going to turn her into another version of him…"

"Good."

"Tauros! How can you say that!?" The motherly pokemon said aghast. "Have you forgotten when you broke a piece of your horn off and Miss Loud helped put it back in place and made sure it set properly!? Our trainer would have just left it broken…Or how about when my little one was sick!? Miss Loud made sure to nurse him back to health."

"I would recommend you save your breath, ma'am," Bouffalant told her. "Tauros is as stubborn as he is loyal to his trainer. Admirable, I admit, if misdirected." The bull pokemon simply snorted angrily as he stomped off further into the stable. The little Tympole gulped, thinking he needed to get out of there. With Tauros out of the way, Kangaskhan not paying attention and Bouffalant having his eyes closed, he thought this was his chance. He hopped as quickly as he dared across the dirty ground. However, up ahead, the old, creaky door swung open. Hops gasped inaudibly, then dove under the trough.

"Alright, you lot...here's your food, not that you deserve it," The gym leader said sternly, pouring the pokemon food pellets into the trough. These were the bare basics of pokemon food; lacking taste, but having enough nutrition for survival purposes. Kangaskhan and her child went for the trough, while Tauros simply meandered over. Before any of them could touch any of the food, Rodge slammed his hand against the wall. "...forgetting something?"

"...Thank you, Rodge…" The pokemon mother and bash buffalo said, almost soullessly.

"Thank you, master," The bull pokemon responded with a bow of the head.

"That's better…" He said with a smirk, though he couldn't understand them. "And understand...the only reason you're being fed, even though you LOST...is because you're doing exactly what I said...ignore her until she grows a pair and learns the only way is Rodge's Way." The gym leader turned and strolled away, back into the gym. Kangaskhan and her child dug right in, while Tauros only ate a couple pellets. Bouffalant doesn't move from his place, keeping his eyes closed. Tympole carefully slipped out from under the feed bin, then moved quickly to the door, which was open a crack. Just outside, Hops could see Leni starting to clean the walls of the gym, with Rodge berating her some more.

"Hmph. Looks like that's at least one thing you're good at...cleaning. You can't battle pokemon to save your worthless life, but at least you make a barely functional maid…" He spat at her, Leni crying quietly as she continued cleaning. "...but that's not good enough. You know that, right?" She just nodded without saying a word. "You're going to be taking over as gym leader soon, and you won't be much use as one until you stop being such a bleeding heart! Do you understand me!?"

"...yes, sir."

"Peh. Don't lie to me...you don't understand a word coming out of my mouth. You know why? Not only are you softer than melted butter, you're dumber than a doornail! An absolute retard!" He screamed at her, making her flinch as if his words actually struck her. "...but you will learn eventually. Even if I have to literally beat it into your thick skull, I will get it in there. It's Rodge's way or the highway," He continued, poking her in the head to emphasize his point before he started to walk toward the main entrance. "I'm going to lunch. This place better be looking glorious when I get back. Until then, the gym is closed."

"...yes. sir." Rodge gave a sharp nod before he shoved the doors open and strode out into the daylight. Hop's mouth just hung open after he had heard that. He didn't really understand what all the words he said were, but he felt they must be bad. He then had the feeling he was being watched. The Tympole slowly turned to see Kangaskhan looking right at him. Tauros wasn't paying attention and Bouffalant was focused on his mental focus, so it was just the two of them. Hops was shaking somewhat, but the kangaroo like pokemon simply glanced back at her fellow pokemon, then pushed the door open more.

"Hurry, before Tauros sees you…" She whispered.

"Thanks," Hops whispered back, hurriedly leaving the stable. However, the tadpole still had one more door to get out, and no way to open it. However, there was someone who might be able to help him right there...at least he hoped. "Tympole…" He said as he hopped his way over to Leni.

"Hmm?" The second oldest of the Loud children blinked, looking about until she spotted the little pokemon. "O...Oh. You're Lana's pokemon, aren't you? What are you doing here?" She asked, kneeling down to look at Hops.

Back outside, Girl Jordan and the twins were discussing what they were going to do now, while Lincoln had stepped away from them. He needed to make a call. He pulled out his pokedex and initiated a video call to Lisa. "Professor Loud. What is the nature of-" She started to say.

"Lisa, it's Lincoln," He said, calmer than he was before, but still pretty angry.

"Ah. Afternoon elder...are you alright, Lincoln?" She inquired, taking note of his expression. "You seem most irate."

"We just finished at the Glenvale city gym."

"I see. And judging by your expression, the battles didn't go too well?"

"What battle? The opposing pokemon did nothing while Lana and Girl Jordan's pokemon wailed on them…"

"Girl Jordan?" Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh...she's a friend of mind from school. We met her on the way here and she decided to join us," Lincoln explained, looking back toward the teen girl with the light brown ponytail. Lisa stroked her chin as she had a look of pondering on her face. She remembered that name from somewhere, but at the moment, she couldn't pull up the memory.

'Eh. It probably isn't important,' The brilliant young girl thought with a shrug. "Anyway, as you were saying, Lincoln?"

"Well, like I said, neither Lana nor Jordan got an actual battle, and the gym leader cut off my battle…" The one son continued, sounding very bitter.

"Wait...the gym leader? He wasn't battling?"

"No. He had Leni battle us with his pokemon…"

"Ah. I see. That makes more sense," The second youngest of the sisters commented with a slight smile. "Pokemon as strong as Rodge's would naturally be more hesitant to obey one with no gym badges, such as Leni." Lincoln was frowning down at his younger sister, but he couldn't deny that it made sense. He did have other beefs, but before he could address them, Lisa continued. "That said, what is he doing having Leni battle in his stead?"

"By the sound of it, he's planning to retire and put her as his replacement." The middle Loud explained, putting the chat window into a smaller window as he looked through his pokedex for the video he recorded. "Here. I recorded the whole thing. You can see and hear for yourself." He sent her the video file and, after reviewing the footage, Lisa's face became hard and serious.

"Ignoring the fact that I do not approve of the manner in which he is speaking to our older sister, nor the words he uses to describe her...which believe me is much harder than you imagine…"

"Oh, I believe it…" Lincoln growled.

"...what he is doing is just plain wrong. Trainers who have yet to acquire gym badges cannot become gym leaders. The Elite Four would not allow it. Not to mention the fact I doubt he submitted the proper paperwork for an official retirement. I will have to consult with the Elite Four and the champion regarding that." Lisa said, turning to a computer console to her immediate right (which was offscreen, but Lincoln knew she had one there. She wasn't one to let a phone conversation slow down her work). Her brother nodded and was about to bid her goodbye when…

"Hops? Hops!? Hey, where'd Hops go!?" Lana called out frantically as she realized her starter wasn't by her side. Lincoln's eyes widened when he ran over to his sisters and Jordan, Lola trying to calm her twin. Fortunately, Leni had come running up to them, holding the Tympole in her arms.

"Here he is," She said, a weak smile on her face. "He got into the gym somehow."

"Hops!" The animal loving twin smiled broadly as the tadpole hopped from her older sister's arms and into hers. "Don't scare me like that again, little buddy."

"Tympole! Tym tym tympole!" The tadpole said, which made Lana blink and hold him at arm length to look him in the eyes.

"What was that, buddy?" She asked. The young frog pokemon went on to describe what she had heard while she was hidden away in the stable. "...he's forcing them to disobey her?"

"Really now?" Lisa commented quietly after she heard that.

"What!?" Lincoln, Jordan, Lola and Lana all gasped.

"W...what?" A shocked Leni asked.

"It's true!" Tympole said, with Lana translating. "I heard the Kangaskhan say it, with the Tauros saying it was for her own good."

"For her own good? How can it be for her own good?" The pageant princess asked in disgust.

"He wants her to be just like him."

"Oh Arceus no…" Lincoln groaned, gripping the bridge of his nose.

"...According to Hops, it gets worse…" Lana said, looking in foul temper. She listened to her little pokemon further, which only made her angrier. "He doesn't feed his pokemon if they lose!?"

"Lana! Keep it down…" Lisa scolded her, startling everyone there.

"Sorry. Was talking to Lisa earlier and never hung up," The one son explained.

"...that's fine. I want her to hear this." The handy Loud said, voice full of rage.

"Very well, but again, don't be so loud," The little pokemon professor told her. "Now, Hops, if you would be so kind as to go into more detail." The tympole nodded and, with Lana's help, told them about how Rodge claimed to not feed his pokemon if they lost, only doing so this time because they were purposely disobeying her like he ordered. No one present liked what they heard, but Lana seemed the most angry.

"Leni...please tell us this isn't true…" The tomboy twin asked, shaking with anger. The kindly blonde winced and looked away from her. That told her all she needed to know.

"He...said it encouraged them to fight harder and better…" Leni whimpered. "...I didn't agree with him...but it was Rodge's way or the highway…"

"Hops said he said the same thing, after he screamed at her and...He called her WHAT!?" She snapped, once more getting hushed by Lisa, and Leni looking horrified.

"What did he call her?" Lincoln asked in a dangerously calm voice; always a danger sign with him.

"Lana, no…" The fashionista cautioned her.

"...He used the r word," Lana whispered. Lisa's jaw hung open, Lola just froze in place for a moment, while Lincoln's face instantly went red, steam billowing from his ears like a tea kettle and unbridled fury in his eyes.

"The...r word?" Jordan asked. However, no one answered her. Instead, Lincoln simply dropped his pokedex, looking like he was ready to tear apart the entire town.

"Oh dear...someone stop him!" Lisa called out from the pokedex. Girl Jordan sprang into action, grabbing hold of the one son with one arm around his middle and the other grabbing one of his arms. She was certainly stronger than Lincoln, being more athletic than him, but she was still having trouble holding him in his anger.

"Let me go!" He snarled. "He is not getting away with that!"

"Lana...a little help…" Jordan requested as she struggled with Lincoln.

"Sorry, Jordan...but my hands are full…" The furious Lana replied through gritted teeth as she tried to keep Lola at bay. The prissy twin was even more wrathful than Lincoln, fighting and sounding an awful lot like a rabid wolverine.

"Lincoln, Lola, listen to me a moment," Lisa said in her usual monotone. "I share your outrage at this development, even if it doesn't show in my face and tone. However, such hostile actions will be detrimental to your cause. Besides, he shalln't get away with all this."

"...really?" The white haired boy asked, pausing in his struggles.

"I promise you, Lincoln. I may not necessarily be able to use all the information Hops had passed on...hearsay, after all...but the bits we can use, especially with Leni's cooperation, will be more than enough to deal with him."

"My cooperation?" The slightly dim young lady asked fearfully. "Won't...he get angry?"

"Who cares if he gets angry?" Lincoln grumbled.

"...he gets really mean when he gets angry…"

"It sounds to me like he's mean no matter what, so what's the difference?" Lana pointed out as she and her fuming sister were wrestling with one another now.

"Yeah...but it's worse when he's mad…and he'll probably take it out on me…"

"Then why don't you quit?" Girl Jordan asked. Lincoln had stopped fighting, but she wasn't about to give him a chance to get away on the sly, so she wasn't letting go. Leni thought about that for a moment.

"...I never thought about that before...yeah, I guess I could do that." She replied, a smile returning to her face. "...I never liked battling anyway."

"There you go. Screw that jerk," Lana told her after she finally managed to pin Lola.

"How'd you end up getting involved with that creep anyway?" The one son asked.

"Well, it all started about a year after I left Pokemon Care College…" she started to explain. "It's a bit of a long story…"

"Then let's talk about it over lunch," Lana suggested after her foul tempered twin finally calmed down. "I worked up an appetite wrestling with Lola."

"Oh! That sounds good. And I know a great place," Leni chirped, gesturing for her family and Girl Jordan to follow her. The twins chased after her (after Lana helped her twin up), but Lincoln and Jordan lagged behind a little. The one son wasn't that hungry, and his friend still had a hold of him. When they noticed this, they both blushed and she quickly released him.

"Er...thanks, Jordan…" He said, half appreciatively, half bashful.

"Anytime, Lincoln," she responded in kind.


	7. Chapter 7: The Highway

The Highway

A couple minutes later, the four Louds and the popular girl were seated at a patio table of a little sushi place she had become fond of. The outdoor eating area was surrounded by a black iron fence, and the furniture was made of steel and painted red. The tables were covered with a red and white tablecloth each. It seemed very popular among the locals, as the dining area was packed, as well as almost the whole patio. "I didn't know you liked sushi, Leni," Lola commented as she looked through the menu.

"Well, it's the healthiest restaurant in town. Besides, sushi is very trendy these days," The fashionable young lady responded.

"Hopefully, they can hold the wasabi…" Lincoln said as he closed his menu.

"What's the matter, Lincoln? Can't handle a little spice?" Jordan teased him with a slight smirk.

"Nah. Linc's always been kinda wimpy when it comes to spicy," Lana joined in, her face hidden behind the menu.

"Ok. Number one: wasabi isn't a 'little spice'," The one son replied with a frown and a raised finger. "Number two: even Lynn shys away from wasabi. THAT should tell you something."

"We're just poking a little fun at you, Lincoln," The girl with the light brown ponytail told him, gently poking his arm as she said it.

"He does have a point, though," The beauty obsessed twin spoke up in support of her brother. "Lynn's like the queen of spicy and she steers clear of wasabi on it's own."

"Thank you, Lola," The white haired young man said appreciatively to his third youngest sister. Once the six of them placed their orders (Princess getting in on it and ordering a kid's sized sashimi), Leni continued her story from earlier.

"As I was saying, it was about a year after I left Pokemon Care college. I knew I wanted to take care of pokemon for a career, but wasn't sure if I wanted to be a breeder, a daycare worker, a nurse...I just didn't know. Anyway, after I left, my favorite teacher suggested I get some battle experience, so I can better spot the various things that can ail pokemon: poison, paralysis, toxic, the list goes on. I started to do so for the first few months…" Leni looked up toward the ceiling as she remembered the few months of trying to battle with her first pokemon; a round, pink pokemon with pointed ears and big blue eyes. She winced with each memory of her poor pokemon getting hit; punched by a gray, muscular, humanoid pokemon, burned by a fire breathing turtle, getting hit by a rock hurled by a rock pokemon with a big pink nose, and electrocuted by a Dedenne. "...but seeing my poor Jigglypuff getting beat up all the time...it was just too much for me. Goodness knows he tried so hard...he tried to tell me he was fine with fighting…"

"Well, most pokemon really do enjoy battling, Leni," Girl Jordan told her. "In fact, it's rare to find a pokemon that doesn't want to battle."

"I know...but I don't like seeing pokemon hurt…" The blonde sweetheart replied sadly. "I still needed the battle experience though, and an idea came to me; I could watch gym battles and get experience that way. So I asked Mr Rodge if I could witness some battles in his gym. He agreed and everything seemed fine at first, though...it still upset me to see the pokemon get hurt; especially with Rodge's method of one hit knockouts…"

"One hit knockouts?" Lincoln asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah. Attacks that hit so hard, almost all pokemon were knocked out in one hit. In the old days, they called him the One Hit Wonder," She elaborated. "It just seemed...unnecessarily brutal, you know...anyway, after witnessing a few battles and expressing my concerns to him, he suggested I become his apprentice; I could still get my experience, I could try and make sure the pokemon aren't hurt too much, and earn a little money on the side."

"All a lie, I bet…"

"Well, not all a lie. I do get paid fairly decently…" Leni said meekly. "And I was getting better at spotting the various pokemon ailments...as they were afflicted unto Rodge's pokemon, leaving me to care for their injuries. However, he demanded that I battle his way, and only his way. One hit, knock out...but none of his pokemon would listen to me, at all."

"Because he told them not to, as we just learned…" Lola growled.

"Sounds to me like he's just using you as an easy way out of the job…" The middle Loud reasoned, tapping his chin with a finger. "...but I don't get why…"

"Being a gym leader is supposed to be a big honor, isn't it?" Girl Jordan pointed out. "Most trainers would give anything to be a gym leader, and then some if they could be part of the Elite Four. So why is he trying to get out of it?"

"My point exactly. And so desperately that he's doing something potentially illegal…" The two of them looked to Leni, who simply shrugged. Just then…

"Hey baby," The voice of Rodge said, all five eyes turning quickly. The muscle bound gym leader was sitting a few tables away, grinning flirtatiously at a young lady with mint colored hair, a casual t shirt and skirt, and a very disgusted expression. "How about you let a real man show you a good time?"

"Why? Do you know any?" Lola retorted before she could stop herself. Lana, Jordan, Leni and the woman Rodge was attempting to woo all burst out laughing at that, while the brutish man just gaped in shock for a moment before he glared over the pageant princess. Before he could yell at her, he spotted Leni and his face went red, with the kindly blonde's turning pale.

"What do you think you're doing here, Down Syndrome Debbie!?" He screamed at her as he stormed over, shoving a table and chairs aside as he approached. His insult to his older sister made the one son's face turn bright red with fury instantly. "You're supposed to be cleaning the gym! Is your pea brain incapable of even retaining that!?"

"Mr Rodge-" She started to say but he roughly grabbed her wrist.

"Shove it, Loud! I don't want to hear-"

"Take. Your. Damned. Hand…" Lincoln growled before he suddenly erupted in unmitigated wrath. "...OFF OF HER!" He rose like a rocket from his seat and threw a punch right at his face. Rodge never saw it coming, so it connected with his cheek. Everything was still and silent for a second before the white haired boy came to a horrifying realization: Rodge didn't even react to the hit. His punch did literally nothing to him. The musclehead slowly turned to look at him, releasing Leni's wrist.

"Was THAT supposed to do anything, pipsqueak?" He asked with a smirk Lincoln didn't like before he grabbed the young man by his collar and lifted him off the ground effortlessly. "Let me show you how it's done!" He reared his fist back, about to deck the one son. Without hesitation, the twins sprang to his defense; Lola leaping onto his back, trying to put him in a headlock and Lana kicking his shins. And they weren't the only ones…

"Frill…..IIIIIIIISH!" Princess yelled as she unleashed a powerful stream of bubbles and water from her mouth, hitting the gym leader right in the chest. Girl Jordan grabbed the nearest thing she could find (the napkin dispenser), and hurled it at the brute's head. It bounced off, having about as much effect as everything else that was happening. This guy was a literal mountain; unmoving, unharmed, and seemingly unstoppable. A fist in the face seemed to be in Lincoln's future, when…

"Put him down this instant, Rodge!" Leni exclaimed, grabbing hold of his free hand.

"I'd like to see you stop me!" He responded. However, when he tried to throw the punch, he found he couldn't. Leni was much stronger than she looked and, much to his shock and chagrin, she was holding him back. He snarled at her, but then dropped Lincoln. "Ah, the little fruitcake isn't worth the effort…" He grumbled. With the release of Lincoln, the twins backed off of Rodge but then he grabbed Leni again. "YOU on the other hand...you clearly need another lesson!"

"Rodge, I QUIT!" She yelled right into his face while she was still emboldened from rising to her brother's defense.

"Quit?" He looked at her with raised eyebrows for a moment, then he laughed. "You're even more retarded than I thought. You can't quit."

"Like hell she can't!" Girl Jordan snapped.

"Seriously. She can't quit. She's under contract."

"Contract? What contract!?" Jordan exclaimed.

"What contract!?" The white haired boy asked Leni in horror.

"What contract?" Leni inquired, looking confused.

"That little piece of paper you signed before you started, Debbie. The one that said you're bound to the job until I deem you fit to take over the gym," He explained with a sinister grin.

"Leni…" The prissy twin groaned, gripping the bridge of her nose.

"...oops," The second oldest sister squeaked fearfully.

"In short, you screwed up royally, Debbie...and you're going to pay for it," He growled threateningly as he started to drag her away.

"Rodge! Come back!" The head waiter called out as he chased after the gym leader. "You haven't paid for your meal!"

"Screw that! The food sucks anyway!" The big bully of a man shouted without even looking back. Having taken a moment to recover from almost getting punched, Lincoln got to his feet and ran after Rodge, Princess hovering behind him.

"Huh? Sir, you and your pokemon don't need to-" Too late. The one son and his starting pokemon were long gone.

"Sir...could you make our orders to go, please?" Lola asked the waiter as Jordan ran off after her friend.

* * *

Up ahead, the scene of Rodge forcibly pulling Leni through the streets back toward the gym was starting to attract a sizable crowd. They all gathered upon the sidewalk as the burly man forced the struggling young lady along with this. All this attracted the attention of someone flying through the air aboard a giant, furry white moth with red and orange wings. A brown skinned man wearing full fireman gear, complete with thick gloves, boots and the hat. He was built pretty strong (though not quite like Rodge) and was pretty tall. He looked down at the crowd and frowned. "Looks like we arrived, Volcorona," He told the moth pokemon underneath him. "Take us down, buddy." The giant insect hissed as it dove down to land behind the growing crowd of people. He started to push his way through the mob, with the intention of getting to where Rodge and Leni were. However…

"RODGE!" Lincoln bellowed as he skidded to a stop several yards away from where the brown haired gorilla paused.

"You again!?" He exclaimed in frustration. "Take a hint, midget. You can't stop me, physically or legally, so screw off before you really get hurt."

'Maybe he can't…' The man in the fireman uniform thought seriously. '...but I-'

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle, Rodge!" The one son shouted, thrusting a finger toward the mongoloid currently holding his older sister and interrupting the stranger's train of thought.

"...yer that desperate to get humiliated?" The Glenvale gym leader asked, sneering back at the white haired boy. "Forget it. Yer not even worth my time."

"...I should have known you were a coward." This was a dangerous gambit and Lincoln knew it. He had tried something similar on Lynn a few times in the past, with mixed (and often painful) results. However, it was his best shot in his mind; and it seemed to be on point. Rodge turned quickly, his face starting to turn red with rage.

"Linky, don't!" Leni cried out, fearing for her younger brother. However, he had no intention of stopping.

"It's one thing to pick on a young lady, or maybe a little kid coming to your gym...but face someone willing to stand up to you and challenge you at what you claim to be so great at...that's another story, isn't it!?" He continued to egg the brute on.

"You little bastard! I could squish your head like a grape if I wanted to!"

"But what would that prove, Rodge?" The one son asked him, his arms folded in front of him.

'What's this kid up to?' The mystery stranger wondered as he watched the scene unfolded.

"Let me tell you what that would prove; it would prove me right. You're scared to face me in a pokemon battle." The two glared at each other for a moment, the heat radiating from Rodge's face enough to make any fire pokemon jealous. Then, oddly enough, Rodge started to laugh. Softly at first, but then it became a belly laugh.

"You got balls, snowcap. No brains, but plenty of balls. You want an ass whoopin' that bad? Why not? In fact...let's make it interesting, shall we?" He asked with a manic grin.

"...what did you have in mind?"

"You want me to let the retard out of her contract-"

"Call her that again and I swear to Arceus it will be the LAST mistake you ever make…" Lincoln warned him, his voice low, calm and deadly. Not that it had any impact on Rodge, nor the jeers and boos from the crowd. He just carried on like the young trainer was mute.

"-then, if you win, I'll tear up her contract. BUT, when I win…" His grin grew even wider. "...not only do I get to keep her as my replacement, but you will tear up your trainer card."

"...excuse me?"

"You'll tear up your trainer card. Then, you'll release all of your pokemon, and get out of the trainer business altogether. So now, I gotta ask you, runt...feeling scared?" Lincoln was silent for a moment as he stared unflinchingly at Rodge. The man in the fireman suit was about to intervene when the white haired trainer responded:

"Deal."

"Wait...what?" The muscle bound gym master asked in surprise.

"Lincoln, no!" Leni screamed in fear.

"Say what?" The recent arrival to the party inquired in shock.

"Frillish…?" Princess asked her trainer nervously.

"I said it's a deal. I win, Leni goes free. You win, I quit being a trainer," Lincoln reiterated. Every single person present looked positively stunned at this.

"Uh...Ahem. Looks like I was right…" Rodge said, his bravado a little off as he didn't expect Lincoln to accept so quickly. "...more balls than brains. But whatever...meet me back at the gym in...five minutes."

"Make it four," The one son told him firmly, in a tone that suggested that wasn't a request.

"Yer funeral, fruitcake." The mean, yet mighty gym leader told him before he continued toward the gym.

"Frill Frillish Ill…?"

"Don't worry, Princess. We got this," Lincoln told her with a bit of a smirk. It was around this time when the RWE dodgeball champion arrived, noticing the stunned look on everyone's face.

"...what happened?"

"I just challenged Rodge to a pokemon battle," He explained, looking pretty confident. "If I lose, it's the end of my training career."

"What!? Lincoln, what are you-!?" Jordan had a look of disbelieving fright on her face.

"It's ok, Jordan. Everything will be fine," He tried to reassure her before he started power walking toward the stadium, Princess grabbing hold of his back.

"What did we miss!?" Lola asked as she and Lana ran up to the teen in the light brown hair, the latter carrying a stack of foam take out containers.

"The young man has just made an incredibly risky wager…" The fireman said as he watched the one son stride forward with determination. "I hope he realizes that, should he lose, he would be bound to his word…"

"He said if he lost, it would be the end of his training career…" Lincoln's friend from school explained, worry etched all over her face.

"Don't you worry about Linc," Lana said, trying to keep the balance of the container tower.

"Yeah. He wouldn't have jumped in without thinking first. He is the man with the plan, after all…" The once pageant participant said, smiling in spite of her own concerns.

* * *

Four minutes later, Lincoln kicked open the door to the gym with a serious expression on his face. By the look of it, his timing was just perfect, as it looked like Rodge was about to lambaste Leni yet again. With his opponent there now, however, he had greater priorities, so he shoved Leni to the side and took his spot on his side of the battlefield. "Well, you made it. Here I thought you would have just buggered off."

"Keep dreaming," Lincoln shot back, taking his own place.

"I suspect you remember the rules: one on one. And need I remind you what's at stake?"

"I remember just fine."

"Just to be safe, let me remind you," Rodge said, though that act seemed to be more for his own enjoyment than for Lincoln's benefit. "IF you win, the dumb broad is out of her contract. WHEN I win, she still works for me and you have to: tear up your trainer card, release all of your pokemon, and give up being a trainer. If you wanna wuss out, now is your last chance." He crossed his arms in front of his barrel chest, leering at the white haired boy. However, he wasn't budging. "Don't say I didn't warn you…Tauros, get your flank steak out here!" He barked out, the bull pokemon trotting out of the stable and moving in front of Rodge. Bouffalant and Kangaskhan both moved to the door in order to observe the battle.

"Princess, I choose you." The pink jellyfish nodded as she floated off his back and onto the arena.

"How appropriate. A princess for a fairy," the brutish trainer commented with a smirk. Just then, the gym door was thrown open, Girl Jordan, Lola, Lana and the stranger from earlier all barging in.

"Looks like we're too late…" Jordan said as she noticed the pokemon on the field.

"No we aren't. We get to witness Lincoln and Princess mop the floor with that creep," The tool savvy twin said with a big grin.

"I wouldn't be too certain, children...Rodge is a fierce opponent," The fireman said before he looked at Lincoln's side of the field. 'Then again, if this young man is as much of a planner as the little lady says…perhaps Rodge will be the one in for a surprise,' he thought with a slight smile. "Either way, there's nothing we can do but watch."

"...Please be careful, Lincoln…" Girl Jordan muttered as she moved to the side, along with the twins and the man who accompanied them.

"Look at that, jackass. You got an audience to witness your end. Isn't that nice?" The Glenvale gym leader taunted the one son.

"You're doing an awful lot of talking and not much battling, meathead. Get on with it," Lincoln told him, not wishing to engage in any banter with him.

"Hmph. Don't want to prolong your suffering? Whatever. Get ready, Tauros. Use Frustration!" Rodge commanded.

"Frustration? What's that?" Lana asked curiously.

"it's Mr Rodge's signature attack," Leni explained once she joined her younger sisters. "I think he said it hits harder the more a pokemon doesn't like you…"

"What!? Why would you want to use a move based on how much a pokemon hates you?" The animal lover of the family asked as Tauros' eyes turned bright red.

"If you must know, you butch brat, whether they love or hate me means nothing. They can feel however the hell they want, so long as they respect me,"

"There's a big difference between respect and fear, Rodge," Lincoln informed him.

"Don't talk like you know anything, snowcap. Tauros, smash his pokemon and get this little shit out of my gym!"

"MOOOOOOOO!" The bull pokemon grunted before he charged right at Princess. Lola quickly covered her eyes, Lana was shaking a little, and Jordan was a bundle of nerves. The one son, however, just smirked, not saying a word as the Tauros galloped forth and rammed his horns...into nothing. Rodge blinked. Tauros looked thunderstruck. Princess simply yawned in a taunting manner.

"The hell? How could you miss, Tauros!? Do it again!" Rodge snapped. The bovine pokemon looked angrier than ever as he tried to slam his head against the Frillish again...and again...and again.

"Having fun yet?" The white haired teen asked with a smirk as each of Tauros' attacks did nothing at all. "How about you cool off a little, Tauros? Princess, Bubblebeam." The pink pokemon nodded as she spat out a stream of bubbles right into the opposing ungulate. This REALLY made Tauros mad, as it reminded him how he was forced to lose to a tadpole.

"What's going on here!?" The muscle headed leader demanded to know, only to come to a snap conclusion of his own. "Whoa whoa whoa! You can't go stacking up on Double Teams before the fight! That's cheating!"

"I guess your report card used to say 'doesn't do his homework'," Lincoln commented. "Because if you did, you would know Frillish is a water GHOST pokemon," He added, Princess continuing to spray the rage filled Tauros, whose counter attacks were doing absolutely nothing in return.

"A ghost pokemon!? Nobody said anything about using a damned ghost pokemon!"

"There are no rules against it. We can use whatever pokemon we wish."

"But that's not fair! We don't have any moves to hit a ghost pokemon!" The gym leader objected.

"What's he talking about?" The mystery fireman asked with raised eyebrows.

"Huh? What do you mean, mister?" Lana asked quietly.

"Tauros are capable of naturally learning a few moves that could hit ghost pokemon," He whispered to her. "Some even super effective."

"Then why isn't he using them?" Girl Jordan asked. She wasn't complaining though. It was satisfying to see her friend making a monkey out of this bully. In spite of Tauros actually trying this time, it's Frustration attacks were useless against Princess, who eventually bubblebeamed it into submission.

"And there you have it," Lincoln said calmly with a smile. "I win."

"Bullshit! That battle doesn't count, pipsqueak! You cheated to win!" A furious Rodge shouted.

"There was no cheating involved, Rodge," The fireman said, stepping forward onto the battlefield, getting the attention of the two trainers there.

'...have I seen him someplace before?' Lincoln wondered briefly before he continued.

"As the young man stated, there are no restrictions to which pokemon can be used in a gym battle. He could use a mythical pokemon if he had one, and it would be legal. If anything, it's on you to be prepared for the possibility of facing the ONE pokemon type that normal pokemon cannot harm under normal circumstances."

"Why don't you mind your own business, you curry scarfing bastard!? Who do you even think you-!?" His anger was cut short when the man just smiled and pulled off his fireman helmet, revealing a head of short cut black hair. Rodge's face went quite pale. "...C...Cinder!?"

"Cinder!?" Lincoln and Jordan both gasped together.

"Cinder?" The twins asked, looking confused.

"That's right. Cinder. Fire Chief of Maple City, Fire pokemon master, member of the Elite Four...and oh yes…" Cinder's smile suddenly turned into a very serious scowl. "...your boss." Seeing the massive jerk starting to sweat made Lincoln smirk even more.

"Uh...hey, Cinder...what brings you into town?"

"Oh, nothing much," The fireman replied with a smile and a shrug. "Seeing the sights, grabbing a bite to eat; I do love scarfing that curry, after all…" Rodge cringed, regretting his words. "Oh, and investigating some claims I had heard from Professor Loud."

"Damned egghead…" The gym leader growled, but then he thought of something. "Wait, Loud?" His pupils shrank as he looked over at Leni, then at Lincoln.

"You wouldn't believe some of the things I heard, Rodge. Enlisting a trainer without badges as your replacement," The Elite Four trainer started, raising a finger as he started to list the infractions he heard of. "Actions that could only be described as pokemon abuse. Setting a terrible moral example for the trainers whom you're supposed to be teaching at the same time." Cinder shook his head and clucked his tongue at him. "Oh, and also being an all around unpleasant person and a sore loser."

"But that battle really wasn't fair!"

"How was it unfair? Your Tauros had moves that could hit the Frillish. Pursuit, Payback, Zen Headbutt. These are common moves for Tauros. Why didn't you use them?" The leader with the severely wounded pride just grumbled, but didn't answer.

"I think I can answer that," Lincoln piped up.

"No one asked you, asshat!"

"Then I shall. Go ahead, young man. Tell me: why do you think Rodge didn't use a move that could have hit Frillish?" Cinder asked calmly, looking to Lincoln.

"Because it wouldn't have been a one hit knock out," He answered simply before he continued, "From what I learned from talking to my sister Leni, he has a habit of knocking out a pokemon with one hit. Most likely using powerful normal moves, such as Take Down, Double Edge, and Frustration."

"None of which would hit Princess at all," Lola said, continuing her brother's logic with a smug smirk.

"Precisely. I had a feeling his foolish pride-his need to accomplish a OHKO-would override his common sense."

"Not to mention how angry you made him," Girl Jordan interjected, a big smile appearing on her face.

"You clever little so and so. You were playing Rodge all along," Cinder said with a chuckle, while Rodge looking about ready to murder something.

"Well, alright...you got the win...so f'ing what?" The muscular man asked furiously.

"Forgetting so soon?" The fire fighter asked him calmly. "Miss Loud's contract?" Smoke rose from the gym leader's head as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and he tore it up right in front of them.

"There! Happy! Now get out of my gym and stay out!" He bellowed, his wrath filled voice echoing all over the arena.

"Actually, Rodge...that's another thing. YOUR gym," The man from the Elite Four said. "I'm afraid, the way it looks now, it won't be YOUR gym much longer."

"Wha!? What do you-!?"

"Remember: I am here conducting an investigation. One that, should it go poorly for you (which it is presently), you are looking at not only termination, but perhaps a stretch in the state pen as well." A large sweat drop trickled down Rodge's head as he grimaced at the news. "As it stands, I can clearly see that you are setting a positively atrocious example for the young ones, and if you treat your pokemon like you treat the one you called your help…" He couldn't even bring himself to finish that sentence. "Long story short...your future is very grim, Rodge." The 'One Hit Wonder' glanced to the left and right rapidly as his mind raced, trying to find a way out of this mess. He couldn't muscle his way out of this, and he doubted he could intimidate them again. However, he did have one option, and he planned to exploit it.

"Now hold up, Cinder. Don't I get a chance to defend myself?"

"I think you'd be better off consulting a lawyer."

"No no. I mean defending myself, right here, right now. In a pokemon battle," Rodge said with a grin. The Elite Four trainer, Lincoln, the Twins, and Girl Jordan just looked at him incredulously.

"You can't be serious…" The white haired young man said, unable to believe what he heard.

"Why not? You got the chance to get the bimbo off the hook. It's only fair I get a chance to save my own skin."

"...What did you have in mind?" Cinder inquired with narrowed eyes.

"Short version: If one of you (and not that snow haired little bastard) can beat me, I'll accept being terminated and go peacefully. When I win, I'll still leave, but with all my retirement benefits." Rodge explained, looking confident.

"...why are you so desperate to get out of this job?" The one son asked.

"Why would anyone want to get out of a shit job? Because I hate it!" He snapped angrily. "It was great at first, and it had its benefits; but the brats...the snot nosed, whiny little brats I was forced to face. They barge right in with all ego, scream after my pokemon mop the floor with them, moan about how it's unfair they lost-"

"It wasn't just because they lost. It was the way in which they lost," The Elite Four trainer informed him with a frown.

"-and then YOU lot jump down my throat for it! Seriously, a gym challenge is supposed to be CHALLENGING!"

"There's a difference between being a challenge and being unrealistically difficult. And as yours is often the first gym most new young trainers, your prefered method made it borderline impossible."

"That's on them! If they want to win, they need to grow a pair!"

"It's a gym leader's job to act as a teacher, as well as a challenge, Rodge. The gym challenge is intended to teach new trainers not just about battling, but respecting their pokemon and opponents."

"I teach them all they need to know! The world is tough and the only way to get by is by being tougher! As for respect, my pokemon respect me absolutely!"

"But do you respect them? Respect is a two way street," Lana interjected, though she felt she knew the answer already.

"Ha! What next? Are you going to tell me that love will bring out the best in a pokemon?" He spat into the ground in disgust. "Don't talk like you even know anything, brat." Cinder just rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance. He was about to just reject his request when Leni stepped forward.

"I'll challenge him…"

"Huh!?" Her family asked in astonishment, while Rodge just laughed.

"Leni, you don't like battling…" Her more handy younger sister told her.

"I know...but I don't like him even more," She replied.

"Hahahaha! You might as well just hand me my benefits if you're seriously going to let Debbie here battle me!" Rodge commented through his hysterics. Lola, Lana and Jordan all had to grab Lincoln's arms just to hold him back.

"Are you sure, young lady? You don't need to do it, you know," Cinder told her. "I could just tell him to go pound salt."

"I am." Leni said as she reached into her purse and drew from within in a red and white pokemon containment device. "Go, Puffy!" She called out as the ball released a roundish pink and white pokemon with long bunny ears and big blue eyes.

"Wigglytuff, the balloon pokemon and the evolved form of Jigglypuff," Rip explained as Lincoln scanned his sister's pokemon. "Thanks to its bouncy body and fine fur, this Pokémon is sought after. Holding one in your arms while you sleep feels great. When it gets angry, it inhales with all its might, and its body gradually inflates. Sometimes they can grow 20 times larger!"

"Awwwww! So cute!" Lola cooed, almost forgetting she was trying to keep her brother from trying to attack Rodge.

"Doesn't look so tough though…" Lana commented in a disappointed tone, while the potential ex gym leader laughed even harder.

"This is going to be too easy. Bouffalant!" The buffalo pokemon sighed as he strolled out of the stable, glancing over Rodge before turning to face Puffy.

"Before we begin though...I just need to get something from my purse," Leni said as she set her handbag down and started to get in it.

"Whatever it is ain't gonna help you...but if you wanna prolong your embarrassment, no skin off my nose."

"Now let's see…" She muttered as she pulled out an emergency scarf, her compact, a comb, a brush, a few more pokeballs, a large leek, a golden coin, and then finally a white headband. "Hmmm. Is this it, Puffy?"

"Tuff," The balloon pokemon replied with a shake of his head. She put the band down and kept digging. After pulling out a box of bobby pins, a pair of pitch black sunglasses, a red vest, and a large ball of iron (which made Lincoln's jaw drop), she finally pulled out a red and yellow sash. This seemed to be what the Wigglytuff wanted as he smiled and clapped his flipper like hands. She wrapped the cloth belt around his soft body and tied it off for him.

"There you go. All accessorized,"

"Yeah. It'd be real snazzy if this were a fashion show, but it's not. Bouffalant, let's show them how the One Hit KO works! Giga Impact!" Rodge ordered loudly.

"One hit wonder...more like one trick pony…" Lincoln said sourly, making his friend and sisters giggle.

"That's a good one, Linc," Lana told him. Bouffalant stared down Puffy, who adopted a judo stance. Then, the bash buffalo simply sat down.

"Bou." He grunted calmly.

"What!? Bouffalant, I gave you an order!"

"Bouf bou falant, bouffalant," The bison with the giant afro responded sagely (not that anyone apart from Lana could really understand him).

"You listen here! I am your master! YOU DO AS I SAY!" Rodge screamed in rage.

"Bouffalant, please do as he says," Leni told him gently, surprising everyone there, including Bouffalant. "I want this to be a fair fight...besides, I don't want you to suffer the consequences of disobeying him…"

"Save yer breath, braindead. My pokemon won't listen to-" He started to say when Bouffalant got to his hooves.

"Bouffalant," The buffalo responded to her with a nod. "Bou Bouf Lant Alant."

"Do what you have to, Bouffalant. Puffy will do the same," Leni told him in return as he started to glow.

"Giga impact...very powerful, but very risky," The fire master commented, one hand gripping his chin as he watched.

"How's that?" Lola asked, letting go of Lincoln.

"Giga Impact is a physical move that, like it's counterpart Hyper Beam, causes the pokemon using it to put everything they have into the attack. Should the attack fail, it leaves the pokemon tired and vulnerable to a counterattack."

"Not that it will fail! Now attack!" Rodge demanded as Bouffalant ran at the Wigglytuff like a Mack truck. Puffy's eyes narrowed as he planted his feet, getting ready to tank the attack. The buffalo's head struck the soft, squishy pink pokemon, causing it to recoil back as if it was really made of rubber. "Ha! One hit, one-!" Once more, he spoke too soon, as the sash around Wigglytuff started to shimmer. The Giga Impact was devastatingly damaging to Puffy, but it didn't knock him out. What's more, Puffy was starting to glow himself.

"...Bouf?" The bash buffalo asked in worried confusion before the Wigglytuff snapped back and headbutt him with TWICE the force he had delivered. The blow was enough to send Bouffalant flying backwards, sending him crashing into Rodge and sending them both through the back wall of the arena.

"Oh dear! Bouffalant! Are you ok!?"

"It looks like he's knocked out…" Cinder commented.

"Least he hit that big jerk on the way back," Lana said under her breath, snickering inaudibly, just like Kangaskhan was.

"Leni...what was that?" Lincoln asked in utter awe.

"I'm not sure. It's a tactic Puffy's been working on for a while," Leni admitted.

"And a nice tactic it was; using the Focus Sash to withstand the attack, then responding with Counter. You don't see that on many Wigglytuffs." The Elite Four trainer explained just as the fuming Rodge pushed his buffalo pokemon off of him and crawled out of the hole he had been knocked into. "Well, Rodge, it seems you have lost, and you know what that means…" The brown haired brute's face was completely scarlet, his teeth grinding as he glared at Leni. He didn't say a single word before he rushed toward her, screaming like a berzerker. It was such a sudden move, no one but the Wigglytuff could get in his way, and he was too light, hurt and tired to stop him. Leni screamed and threw her arms in front of her face to protect herself, but before he could so much as touch her, there was a loud, booming clap. Rodge was suddenly staggered, throwing him off his charge long enough for Kangaskhan to step between him and the kindly young woman. It was the parent pokemon who had stopped him with a Fake Out.

"What the...Kangaskhan, get the hell out of the way!"

"Khan," The kangaroo monster growled, her clawed fists clenched.

"I said move!" He yelled into her face.

"Kangaskhan!" She snapped in return.

"You..TRAITOR!" Rodge roared as he threw a punch right at the pokemon. She grabbed his fist with one hand, her eyes glowing red.

"Kan. Gas. KHAN!" The furious pokemon screamed before she struck him across the face with a Frustration boosted slap. "Kangaskhan khan kan kangas khan gaskhan!" With each furious word came another powerful slap, until she was just smacking Rodge's face back and forth with all her might and fury. Even her little one was getting involved, punching his chest from her belly pouch (not that it did much).

"Lana...do we even want to know what she's saying?" Girl Jordan asked cautiously.

"She's pretty much saying how much she hates him. That's...about all I can understand," The tomboy twin admitted. As amusing as it was to see the bullying man get what's coming to him, Cinder knew he needed to step in.

"Kangaskhan," He said in a calm, neutral voice as he moved over beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "That will do. I don't think he's going to try anything else." She glanced back at the fireman, then back to Rodge. Her eyes shone even brighter as her slapping hand turned into a fist. With one last, rage fueled punch, Rodge was knocked to the floor, seeing stars and barely having any senses left. "...fair enough."

* * *

The next several minutes were quite hectic at the gym. Cinder had called the police shortly after Rodge had been knocked out and about a half dozen officers had arrived in response. Two were restraining the dazed bruiser (needing to use leg restraints to cuff him since his wrists were too big for normal cuffs), two were carting his knocked out pokemon to the pokemon center, one was getting a statement from Kangaskhan, and one getting statements from the Louds, Jordan, and Cinder. She was a tall woman with bluish green hair, wearing a blue police uniform with white gloves and black heels. She had been writing down everything she heard in a little notebook, which was about half filled with details. "Goodness...I had heard Rodge was an inconsiderate jerk, but this...good grief…"

"Tell me about it," Cinder replied, shaking his head. "I have some video evidence here you might be able to use, courtesy of Professor Loud." He pulled out a small flash drive and handed it to the officer.

"Hmmm. Between witnesses, Miss Loud and Kangaskhan, we have plenty to put him away, but no harm having a little extra," She responded, pocketing the flash drive. "Thank you, sir."

"Glad to help, officer." He gave a small wave to the police woman as she went back to help escort Rodge out. "Oh yes, would you be so kind as to relieve him of his gym badges, Officer Jenny?" The green haired woman nodded, pulling the case of Might Badges from Rodge's pocket and tossing them to the Elite Four fire trainer. "Thank you. Whoever gets chosen next will need these…" He said, before turning to Lincoln. "And so will you, young man." Cinder added before pulling one of the barbell shaped badges from the case and handing it to the white haired boy.

"T...thanks, sir," Lincoln said with a big smile as he accepted the Might Badge.

"You're welcome, kid," The fireman replied with a nod, putting his helmet back on. "Welp, don't think I can do much more damage around here. Better head on back. Gotta report to write, training exercises to get through...oh yeah, and seeking applications for the new Glenvale gym leader. Bye kids. See you at the Pokemon League."

"Bye, Mr Cinder!" Lola and Lana called out, while all five of them waved farewell to the master of fire pokemon.

"Congratulations, Lincoln. Your first gym badge," Jordan said, patting him on the back and smiling at him.

"The first, but definitely not the last," The one son replied with a confident smile. 'I can't believe I got to meet Cinder in person!' He thought excitedly, almost going entirely fanboy internally. 'One of the Elite Four, and he not only gave me my first badge, but he's expecting to see me in the Pokemon League! Well, can't go disappointing him now, can I?'

"What are you going to do now, Leni?" Lola inquired, turning to her dimmer older sister.

"Well, I'm definitely going to need a new job…" The kindly blonde mused, looking up at the ceiling. "Maybe I'll head back home, say hi to Mom, Dad and Lily, and see what I can find from there."

"Whatever happens, Leni, we wish you the best," Her only brother said to her, giving her the hug he didn't get to give her before.

"Aww. Thanks, Linky!" She chirped, hugging Lincoln tightly. "I wish the best for you, Lola, Lana and your girlfriend too!" Lincoln's face suddenly turned red, and Jordan's cheeks turned a little pink. The prissy twin face palmed, while Lana tried to signal her to not go there (too late).

"W...wah? Leni, Jordan isn't my girlfriend!" Lincoln objected.

"Huh? Oh! That's right. Ronnie Anne is, isn't she?" She responded, flustering her brother even more. Jordan had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep herself from laughing at her friend's reactions.

"No, she isn't! Besides, we haven't spoken in months…"

"You haven't?" A surprised Leni asked.

"He hasn't?" An even more surprised Girl Jordan inquired out loud. She had known that Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were rather close friends back in school. In fact, a lot of kids believed as firmly as the Loud sisters did that they were a couple (in spite of their insistence to the contrary), herself included. This news that they hadn't spoken in a long time was a bit of a shock to her...as well as the knowledge that her friend was single.

"Oh...I'm sorry, Lincoln. I didn't know…" The not so bright young woman said, looking at him with sympathy.

"...It's ok, Leni...let's just drop it, ok?" The white haired teen said.

"Yeah. Let's drop it and have our lunch before it gets cold...or rather, warm," Lana said, pointing to the stack of containers in her arms.

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that!" Leni chirped as she remembered. "Come on. Let's go eat in the park. It's nicer there."

"Sounds like a plan," A relieved Lincoln said as he followed his older sister out of the gym, with Girl Jordan beside him and the twins taking up the rear. As they walked along, the teen with the light brown ponytail glanced over at her friend.

'So, he's really single?' She thought to herself. 'I am surprised. I mean, yeah, he was kind of a geek back in school and still kind of is, but he was a legit nice guy too. Doesn't hurt he had a little bit of charm too.' She smiled lightly as she continued to look at him from the corner of her eye. 'Charm that's only increased as he got older,' She admitted. 'And he's pretty smart too, if a bit of a goofball. I'm shocked Ronnie Anne left him behind...that no one else went for him...actually, no, that last one's not too surprising. We all thought he and Ronnie Anne were a thing. They were probably scared of risking her wrath, even if she wasn't around.' She quickly turned her eyes to the front as Lincoln started to turn his head to examine the scenery. 'I wonder if...nah. I doubt I'm his kind of girl. We don't really have that much in common...or do we?'

"Everything ok, Jordan?" Her train of thought was derailed when Lincoln spoke up in concern. She had had this look of intense thought on her face after she had averted her gaze from him. She quickly turned to face him, her cheeks a little pink.

"Oh...uh...yeah. Just thinking," She responded. He seemed satisfied with that answer and returned to sight seeing as the popular girl returned to her thoughts. '...maybe I could try talking to him more later, see if we have more common ground than I thought. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?'


	8. Chapter 8: Steel-ing for Battle

_AN: Sorry this one took such a long time. In addition to the sheer size of this chapter, I had more inspiration for other series I was working on for a while, plus the LH/Creepshow collab through October. But here it is, and hopefully it was worth the wait. Before we begin, I have a few questions for you all._

_1: I'm planning to have Lola and Girl Jordan try out Surprise Trading when they reach the next town in a few chapters. Now, I have an idea for what I'm going to give Lola, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on what Jordan should get: from which region should her trade come from? I put up a poll on my profile, so feel free to cast your votes there. And if you're wondering why Kanto and Galar aren't on there, there are plenty of Kanto pokemon being shown already and I have my reasons for Galar._

_2: Should Lincoln touching base with his family back home become a regular occurance in the fic (IE I write out the entire conversation, much like Lincoln's calls home in silvernugget's story) or would you prefer it kept more sparse? Like when something major happens._

_I think that'll be all out of me for now. Enjoy the chapter._

* * *

LAIM 2

Steel-ing for battle

After the group finally got to have their lunch and they bid farewell to Leni, they decided they would spend the rest of the day at Glenvale and start fresh tomorrow morning. With some free time on their hands, they split up to do their own things: Lana headed back to the Poke Mart to replace the medicine they used en route, Jordan went to go check out the Surprise Trade machine (even though she had no pokemon she wanted to trade), and Lola took Lincoln with her to the nearest Beauty Salon, with the hopes of getting Brittany a haircut. While the pageant princess and her precious poodle were getting primped and pampered, the one son thought this would be an ideal time to call their parents. He pulled out his pokedex while he sat in the waiting room and tapped the app for making video calls. After several seconds of waiting, a window opened up showing Lily's face. Judging by the way she was standing, she needed a chair to get to the video phone.

"Hello," She said in salutation, and that was when she realized who was calling. Her face lit up instantly. "Linky!"

"Hehe. Hi Lily," He replied as the adorable six year old leaned in to try and hug the phone.

"I missed you so much, big brother!" She exclaimed. "How are you? How is your journey? How are Lola and Lana? Did you catch all kinds of cute pokemon? Are you pokemon champ yet?" The youngest of the Louds asked in rapid succession.

"Slow down a little, Lily," He said calmly, chuckling at her youthful energy and inquisitiveness. "I'll answer all your questions in just a moment, but first, are Mom and Dad there?"

"Mommy is, but she's in the shower. Daddy should be home for lunch soon though," Lily responded. "Hold on. I'll go tell her you're on the phone." She hopped off the chair and disappeared from sight. The moment the littlest of the Loud children left, Princess crossed her tentacles and huffed.

"What's the matter, Princess?"

"Frill illish frillish frillish…"

"Oh,you're upset she didn't say hello to you?" He asked, his pokemon nodding in return. "I don't think she saw you, but don't fret. She'll be back and I'm sure she'll say hi when she does." The pink frillish grumbled in response as they waited for the little girl to return. A few minutes later, Lily returned with their mother in tow, who was wearing a pink robe and a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Hello honey, hello Princess," The Loud mother greeted them with a smile, which made the jellyfish pokemon feel a little better. "It's good to hear from you."

"It's good to see you as well," Lincoln replied, smiling broadly as Lily reappeared on the screen. "How are you all doing?"

"We're doing just fine, thank goodness," Rita replied. "How about you? Are you, Lola and Lana doing alright?"

"We're doing pretty good," He answered with a smile. "We're in Glenvale right now."

"Really? Have you tried the gym yet?"

"Yeah. Lana, Jordan and I-"

"Jordan? Who's Jordan?" Mrs Loud cut her son off in surprise. He was kind of thrown off by this, but he recovered pretty quickly.

"Girl Jordan, an old friend of mine from school. We met her on the road and she's joining us on the adventure...at least for the time being," he explained.

"Oh yeah...I think I remember seeing her in your 5th grade yearbook," The Loud mother commented as she thought about this. "But not in your sixth grade yearbook."

"She and her family moved to Larchton around that time. Her dad found a good job there, from what she told me." His mother nodded slightly, the notion making sense to her. It was about this time they heard the front door open.

"Honey! Lily! I'm home!" Lynn Sr called out.

"Daddy!" The young girl exclaimed, hopping off her chair to run out and give her father a hug.

"Does she ever stop being adorable?" Lincoln wondered out loud with a chuckle.

"I hope she doesn't," Rita said, more to herself. A few seconds later, the youngest of the children returned to the kitchen, holding her father's hand and gesturing to the video phone.

"Look! Lincoln's calling!"

"He is? Hey there, sport!" He said with a big smile as he walked over beside his wife.

"Hi Dad. How was work?"

"Busy as ever. Lynn's Table is always the lunch hot spot," He answered. "What are you up to?"

"I'm just relaxing a bit while Lola gets her Furfrou groomed here in Glenvale," Lincoln explained to him, since he wasn't there for that part of the conversation. "As I was telling Mom, Lana, Jordan and I already got our first badges."

"Your first badge already? That's incredible! Congratulations to all of you," The Loud father said with pride in his tone and face.

"What about Lola? Didn't she try the gym?" Lily asked, returning to the chair so she could see and be seen.

"Lola is focusing on the pokemon contests rather than the gym challenge, so she passed on the challenge...which was probably for the best, since it was...an experience to say the least," The one son said sourly. This surprised his parents and his youngest sister. "Let's just say the gym leader was not a nice man and leave it at that." He covertly sent a text to his mother and father, saying he would explain later. He didn't want to tell them what happened in front of Lily. "Oh, and you'll probably be seeing Leni pretty soon."

"Leni?" Both parents looked pretty confused by this.

"Again, will explain later if Leni doesn't herself," The white haired teen told them. "Anyway, we're planning to head out first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a plan," His mother said before she asked, "Where are Lana and Lola right now?"

"Lana's restocking on supplies, while Lola is getting Brittany a haircut," He explained, looking over toward where Lola was standing. He couldn't see her Furfrou, but Lola's eyes suggested she was pleased so far. "I'm just waiting for Lola right now."

"Have you caught a lot of Pokemon, big brother?"

"Just two others, apart from Princess," He responded with a smile. When he noticed his baby sister looked kind of disappointed, he explained, "I'm trying to keep a smaller team, so I can give everyone the training and attention they need."

"Frillish frill frill illish, frill lish," Princess said with a haughty expression.

"Lana, on the other hand, she's catching ALL the pokemon," Lincoln continued, laughing softly along with his giggling baby sister. "Yeah, not that surprising. She wants to meet and befriend as many pokemon as possible."

"And I'm guessing Lola is catching Pokemon that would do well in contests?" His father asked.

"Kinda. Mostly cute and beautiful pokemon. Nothing really wrong with that, but I think she should seek out some clever and tough pokemon as well. Make herself a more well rounded contest team."

"Well, one step at a time. I'm sure Lola will find herself a few more varieties of pokemon in due time," Mr Loud said. Lincoln nodded in reply. Just then, Lana had arrived at the pokemon salon, carrying a big paper bag of stuff. Right behind her was Girl Jordan.

"There you are, Linc," Lana said with a big smile, setting the bag down. "What are you up to?"

"Just chatting with Mom, Dad and Lily while waiting for Lola to-"

"You're talking to Mom, Dad and Lily!?" The tomboy twin exclaimed, rushing over to see the pokedex screen. "Hi everyone!"

"Hello Lana," Rita replied, giggling at Lana's reaction. "From what Lincoln tells me, your journey's going well. Is that right?

"Yeah! I've caught so many great pokemon!" Lincoln handed his pokedex off to her as she started to describe all the pocket monsters she had caught so far.

"So, what'd you think of the surprise trading machine?" The one son asked his friend quietly while Lana took her turn speaking to their family.

"I'm definitely gonna give it a try," she replied with a whisper. "Could literally get anything from it. Saw someone get a Dratini from it at one point."

"Whoa…"

"Presenting…" Lola started, getting her sibling's and Jordan's attention. "...Brittany!" The poodle pokemon emerged from behind the screen. The fur on her head was done up to look like a wide brim hat with a yellow bow, her ears looking like pommy pigtails, and the rest of her fur trimmed with a poodle cut. She looked amazing, and by the look of her, felt amazing too.

"Wow! That haircut looks great, Brittany," The white haired teen said with a smile.

"Looking good, pupper," Jordan commented, giving the Furfrou the thumbs up.

"She does?" Lily asked. "I wanna see! I wanna see!" Although she was a little irked at being interrupted, Lana turned Lincoln's pokedex to face the new Brittany. "Gasp! She's so pretty!"

Fur fur!" The poodle pokemon barked, loving all the attention. In contrast, Princess was pouting about how she was taking attention away from her.

"Lily? Is that you?" Lola asked, zipping over to her twin to see the pokedex. "And Mom and Dad too! Hi!" Now it was Lola's turn to describe the journey from her eyes, while Lana tried to continue her own story. Being used to such things from the twins, their parents just listened to them to the best of their ability, the littlest Loud hanging on their every word. Lincoln just watched from the background with a small smile, Girl Jordan by the front door waiting for them to finish up. And then…

"Oh! And Lincoln's a daddy!" Lana suddenly exclaimed just as her father took a sip of coffee. Lynn Sr spit his drink right back out. Rita suddenly went wide eyed with alarm. Lily went wide eyed with wonder and excitement.

"You mean...I'm an auntie!?" The six year old asked, fit to burst with joy.

"B...But how? You've only been gone a week," Their father sputtered in total disbelief.

"No no no...you're much too young...I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet!" Rita said while freaking out. Lincoln's face went pale (except for a deep blush on his cheeks) and he looked in a state of momentary shock. Lana looked really confused by everyone's reactions, while her twin was trying to hold back her hysterics. Jordan would have liked to step in and help, but she couldn't. She couldn't even breathe, she was laughing so hard. While his father demanded answers, his mother had a mini meltdown and his baby sister gushed about being an aunt, Lincoln snapped out of his daze and cleared his throat.

"Alright! Alright! Everyone calm down for a moment!" He said with a raised voice, which brought silence among his family. The only sound that could be heard, apart from the background noise of the salon, was Jordan's wheezing laughter as she lay in a corner of the room. The white haired young man sighed and pulled his Scorbunny's pokeball. With a tap of the little white button, the little fire bunny appeared in a flash of light, still wearing the blanket as a cape. "This is Scorbunny," He introduced the little rabbit, who looked into the pokedex screen and waved enthusiastically to his family.

"Aww. What a cute little bunny!" Lily cooed when she saw him. "I just wanna give him a big hug." Rita and Lynn Sr, however, just looked at their middle child, wondering what this had to do with anything.

"When Scorbunny joined my team, I described our team as being a family. According to Lana, when he heard this, Scorbunny called me his daddy," Lincoln explained, giving his catchaholic sister a somewhat dirty look. It took Lana a second to realize what she had just done, but when she did, she gave him an apologetic shrug and a sheepish smile. Lola couldn't hold it back any longer, and now she was laughing almost as hard as Lincoln's friend. "THAT is what she meant." It took a moment or two for that to sink in with his parents. When it did, however, Lynn Sr breathed a sigh of relief with a smile, and Rita just started to giggle; from embarrassment, relief, and the fact that Scorbunny saw Lincoln as a surrogate father was positively adorable.

"Hoo boy...is there egg on our face, or what?" The Loud father asked with a chuckle. "Sorry to get the wrong idea there, sport...should have known that couldn't be right...though with the Loud genes-"

"It's fine, Dad," Lincoln cut him off, not wanting his father to go down that tangent right now. He could hear Girl Jordan already possibly dying of laughter behind him; he didn't need her to have another reason to laugh even more. "You just didn't have all the information…"

"Sorry…" Lana said meekly before she and Lola returned to describing their journey thus far to their parents and sister, and Lincoln recalled his Scorbunny. He then turned to Jordan, giving her a half frown.

"Hehehe sorry…" She managed to choke out, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "...but the looks on your faces...it was priceless. I wish I could have snapped a picture." He sighed and shook his head, but still offered her a hand to help her up.

* * *

The next morning, refreshed and after a hearty breakfast, the three Louds and Girl Jordan were ready to resume their pokemon journey, heading south out of Glenvale onto Route 3. Lana was pretty disappointed to learn there weren't many new pokemon for her to catch on the way, at least on the road. However, a small stream ran along the route, which seemed to be teeming with small water pokemon. This meant their adventure was put on pause so she could break out her collapsible fishing rod and go fishing. Naturally, this was a point of annoyance for Lola, who was pouting while petting Isabella. There was a contest hall in the next town, and she wanted to get to it as soon as possible. Seeing as they weren't going anywhere anytime soon, the pageant princess decided she would go for a walk. Lincoln decided he would join her, his frillish following along in the river. "Why does Lana have to catch anything that moves…?" Lola complained as she shuffled along the road.

"We all have our different ways of doing things, Lola. You know that," Her older brother told her. "Lana's gotta catch em all. It's how she operates."

"Yeah, yeah...I know...but does it have to take soooo long…?"

"Sorry, Lola, but part of being a trainer is patience. We'll be moving again soon enough," Lincoln said, looking toward Princess as she happily floated along. "The contest halls aren't going anywhere anytime soon." The Loud in pink just huffed a bit, but then an idea hit her.

"Speaking of moving, I bet you were pretty upset when Jordan moved away back when you were both in school," She said with an innocent smile.

"Hmmm? Well, yeah, I was kind of upset," The one son admitted, glancing up at the cloud filled sky. "Then again, I was pretty down when all of my friends moved on with their journeys without me…"

"What was she like back then?"

"She was one of the most popular girls in the class. She had the looks, the mind, and the athletic skill. You could say she had it all," Lincoln explained as he considered the past. "She was an absolute terror at dodgeball especially...and I was her favorite target. She would even pelt me after the whistle was blown."

"You know what we say, Linky~" Lola said with a big grin.

"You guys said the same thing about Ronnie Anne," He replied with a frown.

"We weren't wrong~"

"No. No, I suppose not. We did end up becoming friends," He conceded as Lola's Litleo dove into a patch of dandelions. "But it's not the same thing here. Jordan and I were friends already, so it was more her messing with me." He then looked down toward the grass, a somewhat saddened look on his face. "Besides, I'm not exactly her type."

"How do you know that, big brother?"

"Well, for starters, look at me." he gestured down at his body. "Not exactly the kind of guy a girl could go for...I mean, not exactly flabby, but soft as a marshmallow," he poked his stomach with a sigh. "...and almost as pale too."

"...granted, you aren't exactly built like Lynn…"

"And to top it all off…" Lincoln continued, cutting her off. "...I'm a huge nerd. I'm not ashamed of that fact, but it's not exactly an attractive trait." He sighed, shaking his head. "In short, hardly an ideal guy for a girl like Jordan." The little blonde hot head suddenly slid to a stop right in front of him, forcing him to stop. She then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to her face.

"Lincoln. Look at me," She instructed him, pointing at her eyes. "Look at me. I don't want to hear you talking like that again. Ever. You're a great guy. You're no Mr Universe, true, but you're still a great guy." She released his shirt from her grasp. "You might not have much in the way of muscles, but you're the man with the plan. You have all the strength you need with that brain of yours," she said, tapping him on the forehead. "And you're nice too. You're always willing to help someone in need, family, friend, or even complete strangers."

"I guess…"

"Not to mention you got the Loud charm," Lola told him while smirking and striking a pose. "We all got it, and so did you. All you lack is confidence."

"Hey. I have plenty of confidence," He retorted, pretty offended.

"As a trainer, yes, but you need confidence in yourself. It's like you told me about pageants; if you don't have confidence in yourself, the judges won't have confidence in you."

"I know you're right, Lola, but…"

"No buts," she firmly interrupted him. "And another thing...who says physical appearances are all that matters?" That earned her a hard look from her older brother. Realizing what she just said, she blushed lightly and chuckled sheepishly. "Oh yeah...Hehehe. Ok, maybe I'm not the one who should be giving this lecture, but the point still remains. You don't know that kind of stuff matters to her...or did it back then?"

"I...don't recall," he admitted. He couldn't really remember any instance in which she fell for anyone especially handsome or what not. In fact, he never really heard of her having a boyfriend in school (popular though she was). If she did, the rumor mill would have spread it like the common cold.

"Well, there you go."

"Hypocrisy aside, you're right, Lola...but we've always been just friends. I don't think she even likes me like that…" Lola was forced to bite her tongue at that. Having spoken to Jordan before, she could tell she did kinda like him. However, she realized she was pushing a little too hard. She didn't want her brother to be resentful of the idea.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln," She said, looking apologetically at him. "I just don't like hearing my favoritest brother talking so badly about himself, and I guess I went on a tangent..."

"I'm your only brother."

"Which still makes you my favoritest brother," she informed him, giving him a hug. Lincoln just kind of rolled his eyes a bit, but he smiled and embraced her in return all the same.

* * *

A couple minutes later, the two of them returned from their walk, finding Jordan and Lana looking at a small goldfish with a horn on its head. It appeared to be floating a few inches off the ground. "Oh hey, you're back," Lana said as soon as she spotted her brother and twin sister. "I caught an extra Goldeen in my fishing. Do you want it?" Lincoln considered it for a moment, though he politely declined. He had a dependable water pokemon already. Lola, on the other hand, seemed to be more seriously considering it. While she wasn't really a fish person, she couldn't deny that the little goldfish looked kind of beautiful, and as her brother pointed out to her before, she needed a diverse team.

"You know what...I think I'll catch it," Lola said as she pulled her faithful dog pokemon's mini home from her belt. Before she could throw it, however, Isabella leapt in front of her, sizing up the Goldeen. "Isabella? What are you…?" The beauty obsessed twin asked just as the Litleo spat a cloud of embers at the fish pokemon. The aquatic pocket monster shrugged off the fire attack and retaliated by lunging at Isabella with its horn. The lion cub was hit directly, but didn't seem too bothered by it. "Isabelle, return!" Lola instructed, but the Litleo refused to listen. She instead slammed her head against the goldfish. This attack seemed to do more damage as Goldeen was thrown back and colliding with a rock.

Before it could recover from the attack, Isabellle headbutt it again. The goldfish bounced off the rock and flopped to the ground, with barely enough strength to fight. Isabella looked like she was going to finish it, so the prissy twin had to act quickly. "Pokeball, go!" She yelled as she hurled the empty ball toward the battered fish monster. The Goldeen didn't have the power to resist, so it was captured with ease. "Got it!"

"Goldeen. The Goldfish Pokemon," Her pokedex informed them all. "Although known for their splendid tail fins, Goldeen apparently compete among themselves to see whose horn is thickest and sharpest. The way it swims along fluttering its dress-like fins has earned it the name "princess of the water.""

"Eeee! A water princess!" Lola squeed excitedly before she turned to her lion cub pokemon, who was looking at her with a big smile. "Isabella, why didn't you return when I told you to!?" She asked sternly, making the Litleo flinch and become sad.

"I suspect it is resulting from her Rivalry ability," Her pokemon encyclopedia interjected. "The Goldeen you caught is a female, which your Litleo sees as a rival to be defeated. In addition, the Goldeen also possesses the Water Veil ability."

"Oh…" The short tempered princess wanna said, her displeasure somewhat faded. "Sorry Isabella…" She said to the lion cub, gently petting its head. "But you could have been really hurt if Goldeen used a water attack, and I wouldn't want that. So when I tell you to return, you return...ok?"

"Ok," Isabella replied as she brightened up and nodded (Lana translating as always). "But were you proud of me? How I took on that really tough opponent? You were proud, right?"

"Oh, of course I'm proud of you, you silly kitty," Lola said as she picked up and hugged the fire lion, who looked like she couldn't be happier.

"So, did you catch anything other than Goldeen, Lana?" Lincoln asked as his tomboyish little sister packed away her fishing gear.

"I caught a Magikarp," She responded with a big smile. "And this little yellow duck called Psyduck."

"Sounds like a successful fishing trip to me," The one son said with a soft laugh.

"She even caught a Goldeen for me too," Girl Jordan told him, holding up the currently occupied pokeball. "Not sure if he'll make my final team roster, but I'll give him a chance."

"Well, we better get a move on," Lincoln said, looking up the path. "We've got a lot of ground to cover, even if we're not on a time limit." Lana and Jordan both nodded in agreement, while Lola was overjoyed that they could proceed, getting her a few steps closer to the contest hall.

* * *

Days passed as they walked the path from Glenvale to Oakenville, with very little to break up the monotony of land travel, save for the rare trainer seeking a battle. And, unfortunately, they were still several days away from their destination. Lola's patience was at an all time low, Lana's morale was dwindling as she hadn't seen a new pokemon in a while, and even Lincoln was wishing for something to happen. His wish was granted when they came to a three way intersection, with a large sign set up beside the route to the right. Curious, the group moved over for a closer look. "Hmmm. Pokemon Park," The white haired teen read, tapping his chin with a finger.

"A park for Pokemon or a park full of Pokemon?" Lana inquired, sounding kind of excited.

"Probably a park full of pokemon," Girl Jordan theorized, when she noticed a piece of paper attached to it. "What's this?" She leaned in closer to read what was written upon it. "A pokemon catching competition. Catch the best pokemon and win the grand prize." Lana's eyes lit up in an instant and was about to rush down the path, but Lincoln grabbed her arm before she could. He looked over at Lola, worried how she would react to this.

"A pokemon catching contest, huh?" Lola asked, looking at the flyer with narrowed eyes. "...that actually sounds like fun. Be a darn sight more fun than the nothing going on now. Besides..." She turned her attention to her older brother. "How much longer would it take to get to Oakenville?"

"Another five days, a week at most."

"Then yeah. Let's do this," Lola decided.

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Lana exclaimed before her brother let her go and she went bolting toward the park, soon followed by her siblings and Girl Jordan.

* * *

The walk to the park was a relatively short one (only a half hour). The park itself was surrounded by tall, chain link fences, flanking a large visitor center that was about as large as a pokemon center. It was made mostly of concrete, with an automatic sliding door up from, and metal roof over it. At either side of the door were more adverts for the catching competition. There were a couple of trucks outside the visitor center in the parking lot. Lincoln looked at them for a moment as his sisters and friend went into the building, but just shrugged, figuring some work was being done in the park. Stepping inside the building, he noticed it looked a lot cozier on the inside than it did on the outside. Almost like the interior of a log cabin, complete with a faux fireplace with an electric fire. Over the mantle was a large, flat screen tv, currently showing the Micha region news. A crowd of people of varying ages were occupying all the chairs and couches in front of the television, most of them chatting it up. However, none of the Louds nor Girl Jordan could hear what they were saying. Sitting behind the reception counter was a tall woman with short, straight green hair, with bangs that covered one eye. She was wearing a white blouse with a forest green skirt, and purple framed glasses. When Lola and Lana approached the desk, she gave them a warm smile. "Hello there, dearies. Welcome to the Route 3 Pokemon Park. How may I help you today?"

"We're here to sign up for the contest," Lana told her, fit to burst with excitement.

"Is that so?" She said with a bigger smile.

"What's the entry fee?" The pageant princess inquired, reaching for her wallet.

"Oh, there's no entry fee," The woman informed them. "We just need you to sign up. Names please."

"Lana Loud."

"Lola Loud."

"My my. A double header," she joked with a soft laugh. She then handed them each a little badge. "Here you go. Just head out those doors in the back. The competition should be starting soon."

"Would we be able to watch the contest?" Lincoln inquired, stepping up to the counter.

"But of course. We'll be broadcasting the competition on the tv right there. For safety reasons, we don't want anyone other than the competitors in the park during the contest."

"Makes sense to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome, cutie," She responded, winking at him and making him blush lightly. He quickly moved over to where the crowd was getting ready to watch, Girl Jordan smirking a bit while she joined him.

* * *

"This is going to be so much fun!" The catch-aholic exclaimed while giggling as she and Lola stepped out into the sunshine onto the meadow like grass. Ahead of them, stretching as far as the eye could see, was the park itself. It was mostly grasslands with plenty of tall grass possibly teeming with pokemon, with some dense woodlands to their right, a lake in the distance to the left, and some hills in the distance ahead. A handful of bird and bug pokemon were flying about over the grass.

"I only hope I can catch a really adorable pokemon," Her twin said, smiling broadly.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is," A snooty voice said from to their right. They both turned their heads to see a tanned teen girl with long brown hair, a fine yellow dress with a white sash, and a smug look on her face. "The little mud child, and her twin too."

"Lacey St Clair…" Lana growled, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her mortal enemy.

"Who?" A confused Lola asked.

"A girl from my class...real stuck up witch, if you know what I mean," Lana responded, not taking her eyes off the snobbish girl before them.

"Hmph. I expected no less from a dumpster diving gutter brat like you," Lacey said with a huff.

"Hey! No one talks to my sister like that, except me!" The pageant princess snapped, stepping between her and Lana.

"I'll talk to whomever I want however way I want, loud mouth." Lola raised her fist to swing at Lacey, but Lana quickly grabbed her arm.

"Now now. Settle down, children," An older man with a serious expression and a thick gray beard said. He was wearing a white shirt and green pants, along with a ranger hat. "The contest will begin shortly."

"I'll settle for beating you both in the catching contest, as well as a battle of wits," Lacey said snobbishly, storming off to the back of the group.

"...you should have let me slug her…" Lola whispered furiously.

"You'd get disqualified if you did," Lana said in a hushed voice. "Let's win this contest first. Then, you can slug her."

"...sounds fair…"

"Alright trainers! Gather round!" The stern faced man called out. "We are about to explain the rules of the contest." The twins ran over to join the crowd of participants, not wishing to miss this. "Alright. Here's how this is going to go down. You'll have an hour and a half in order to catch the best pokemon possible."

"How do you determine that?" A nerdy looking little boy in the front asked.

"Appearance, power, level, rarity, and whether it matches the type we're about to pick. On that note, before we send you on your way, we will pick one pokemon type at random from all that currently exist in the park," The park ranger told them as two others pulled a large wheel in behind him. "You may catch any pokemon you wish, but only the selected type counts. And you may only enter ONE pokemon each."

"What!?" Lana objected, not liking this rule one bit.

"Only one pokemon per participant, using special park pokeballs!" He reiterated, as the contest workers handed each trainer twenty green and dark green balls. "If you decide you'd like to catch a different pokemon after catching your one pokemon, your first pokemon will be released automatically."

"...still not fair…" Lana grumbled under her breath.

"We can always come back after the contest and catch any others you want," Her beauty centered twin whispered to her.

"...yeah, I guess…"

"There is just one last rule. Your pokemon may not assist you in capturing during the contest. You'll have to catch the pokemon at their strongest," The park ranger informed him. He paused in his speech to look at a list he pulled out from behind him. "I believe that is everything. Now, let us see what kind of type you will all be hunting." He turned away from the young trainers while his aides spun the wheel. Tension filled the air as the wheel clattered and spun, until it finally clicked to a stop. "And the type is...steel types! This won't be easy…"

"Steel types? THey have steel types here?" One of the trainers asked, pretty surprised.

"Yes, but not very many. In fact, they are quite rare here," The lead ranger explained before he pulled out an air horn. "And with that out of the way...on your marks. Get set."

"Wait, won't that just-" Lana started to ask.

"-GO!" He blasted the air horn into the air, which sent any and all nearby pokemon scattering. The assembled trainers all went running in every direction, except for Lana (who was giving the lead ranger a "seriously!?" look) who just walked off, and Lacey, who decided to follow Lana with a smirk.

* * *

Twenty minutes into the game, Lana was trekking through the park woods with her pokedex out. Most of the pocket monsters she encountered so far were either ones she saw already (pidgeys, rattatas, wumples, etc), or they weren't steel pokemon. She couldn't deny that it was getting under her skin; all these pokemon and she couldn't catch them all. "He wasn't kidding...there aren't many steel types here…" She grumbled. "...not helped by the fact he scared them all…" She sighed as she cut through the underbrush, hoping the pokemon fled into the darker parts of the woods. A few minutes of trudging, her hope and persistence paid off. In a small clearing, she saw a small, round, metal pokemon with a little screw on its head and a pair of magnets at either side. "Hmmmm. That looks like a steel pokemon. Not the best, but it's something." Lana pulled one of the camo colored pokeballs from her pokemon and took careful aim. "Park ball-"

"-GO!" Another voice shouted, another spheroid flying from another part of the forest.

"Huh!?" The animal lover gasped in surprise as the magnet armed pokemon was caught in the park ball. "Hey! That was my catch!"

"You snooze, you lose, mud child," Lacey said with a snide smirk, stepping out of the shrubs to claim her catch. The hat wearing twin's face started to turn red as she turned to push her way out of the brush to look for another pokemon.

"That dang witch…" She growled, not noticing that Lacey was starting to follow her again. A few steps through, Lana was forced to stop to avoid being hit by a blur of gray and black that zipped past her path. "Wah! What was that!?" She asked in shock. "Did you see that, Pokedex?"

"I'm afraid not. The pokemon moved far too fast for me to get a proper scan," Her pokemon encyclopedia informed her. Lana grinned a bit as she looked in the direction the speedy pokemon had run.

"Now THAT sounds like a pokemon that could make a great party member...and maybe win the contest too," She said before she went off in pursuit of the gray blur.

'I agree,' Lacey St Clair thought with a bigger grin as she followed her adversary.

* * *

Lola, on the other hand, was searching the meadow area with most of the other contest participants. Park balls were flying all over the place, catching bug, bird and rodent pokemon that were scattering away from the swarm of pokemon trainers. The pageant princess didn't care much, however. She didn't see any pokemon that she wanted in the lot, least of all any steel types. However, she could see sticking with the crowd would only make her job more difficult, she so strayed away from the other contestants. While they all followed the fleeing pocket monsters toward the hills, she moved toward the lake. When she arrived at the large pond, she saw a fallen tree laying beside the water's edge right in front of her, and a large rock formation shaped like a cobra on the other side. "Whew...all this walking around is really wearing me out…" Lola said out loud to herself, looking pretty tired. She moved over to the log and sat down on it, looking into the crystal clear water's surface. She smiled at her reflection, turning her head to the left and right to get a better look at herself. "Even tired, I look gorgeous," She commented, pleased with what she saw. It was then she noticed a tiny yellow and white bug pokemon fluttering just behind her to her left. It looked like a little mosquito. Lola squeaked in shock and turned toward the bug, leaning back away from it. The insect moved a little closer to her, looking her over with curiosity. "P...Pokedex...what is that?"

"Cutiefly, the bee fly pokemon…" Her pokedex replied in its computerized voice.

"Cutiefly? How does a pokemon like that get such an adorable name?" Lola asked, looking up at the miniscule bug pokemon. "...well, actually, it is kind of cute at that."

"...It feeds on the nectar and pollen of flowers. Because it's able to sense auras, it can identify which flowers are about to bloom. Myriads of Cutiefly flutter above the heads of people who have auras resembling those of flowers."

"...I have an aura like a flower!" The prissy twin gasped with a big smile and a starry look in her eyes. The Cutiefly fluttered around Lola's head as she continued to follow its progress, not in the least bit afraid of her. She made her decision; never mind that it wasn't a steel pokemon. She wanted THIS pokemon. She pulled out a park ball and tossed it at the bee fly. However, with as close as it was, she missed completely, the ball colliding with a rock just in the water. "Hey! Hold still!" Lola demanded. Much to her surprise, the Cutiefly came to a hover right in front of her. "Uh...thank you," She said, not having expected this. She pulled out a second ball and, rather than throwing it, she gently tapped the mosquito like pokemon with it. It offered no resistance as the ball absorbed it, the ball falling to the grass below her. It shook a few times, then made the telltale click of a successful capture. "Yes! Cutiefly is mine!"

"Congratulations, Miss Loud," Her digital encyclopedia said. "Your Cutiefly is female, with the Honey Gatherer ability."

"Honey Gatherer? Yum!" Pleased with her capture, she moved to collect the park ball she had missed with. She might not be able to use it again, but she wasn't going to litter this pretty park. She pulled the ball from the water and noticed that small speck of white where the ball had hit the rock. "Huh?" She narrowed her eyes at this, running her finger along the spot. A bit of green paint chipped off the damaged spot. Her curiosity piqued, she continued to use her fingernail to scrape the paint off, revealing more and more white on orb. She suspected perhaps they just used a bunch of Premiere Balls to make these...until she saw a bright blue double helix symbol above the activation button. "Huh? What's this…?"

* * *

Back in the visitor center, Lincoln was watching the television with Jordan, a frown on his face when he saw Lacey St Clair steal his sister's catch right out from under her nose. "That's just playing dirty…" He grumbled. Princess nodded in agreement, looking rather huffy.

"I agree, Lincoln...but there's not a lot we can do about it. Don't worry, though. You know Lana is one tough cookie. She'll catch something great before the deadline." Jordan said reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder. The one son nodded in response, though he still didn't look happy about Lacey's underhanded tactics. "At least it looks like Lola caught something she liked."

"Yeah. I don't think it's a steel type pokemon, but it doesn't look like she cares. Well, as long as she's happy." While they were chatting, the woman behind the counter was watching the trainers spectating the competition just as closely. Especially Lincoln, with a sly grin on her face. Her people watching was interrupted by the sudden ringing of the phone at her desk. She glared at the phone and picked up the phone.

"Route 03 Po-" She started to say, but then she stopped mid sentence. She lowered her voice when she continued. "Don't say that out loud, you fool...what's the problem?" She was silent as she listened to the answer. "Seriously...now!? Sigh...alright, I'll be right there, but this better be good…" She hung up the phone and, after making sure no one was paying her any mind, she put up a sign that said 'On Break. Back soon' and slipped away, heading for the kitchen.

* * *

"...where did you go…?" Lana whispered to herself as she continued to track the elusive, swift the woods. She couldn't see any tracks, but she did see some broken twigs, scratches along tree trucks and holes in the shrubs, so that was what she was going on. About fifteen minutes of searching, she came across a metallic bird with blade-like wings. It was pecking at the ground, seemingly oblivious to her presence. Her grin returned full force as she observed the metal plated avian from the bushes. "Gotcha…" She muttered to herself as she pulled out a park ball. She was about to throw the ball when a streak of gray and black zoomed past the bird's beak, stealing the seed it was about to eat. Lana was positively gobsmacked by the sight, while the flying steel pokemon was more irate. Because of her hesitation, another ball soared over her head and struck the bird in the head. The park ball shook once, then burst open, leaving the startled bird to fly away. "Dang it, Lacey!"

"Well, you didn't seem to want it, so I thought I'd claim it," Lacey said smugly from behind her.

"I swear if you don't cut that out, I will toss you into the first pile of pokemon manure I find!" The tool savvy twin threatened with an angry sneer before she ran off further into the woods.

"If you don't roll around in it first…" Her detractor responded in a disgusted tone before she followed Lana, though Lacey assumed she was going after the winged steel type. In reality, she had gone back after that incredibly fast pokemon again. About five minutes into Lana's tracking, she went one way and Lacey went another. Another five minutes passed and the tomboy came across a large mound of dirt, twigs and leaves, with an opening about two feet high and wide. It looked like a dirt cave. Lana peered inside the opening. It was pretty dark inside, so she was forced to turn on the flashlight on her pokedex. Inside, a metal plated soldier ant was nibbling on the seed it had stolen earlier. "Whoa...pokedex, what is that?" Lana asked in a whisper.

"Durant, the iron ant pokemon," Her pokemon information log informed her. "Individuals each play different roles in driving Heatmor, their natural predator, away from their colony." The insect quickly turned around when it heard Lana's pokedex, narrowing its eyes at her.

"Oops…" was all Lana could say before she was charged by the ant. It moved so fast, it was able to ram her out of its lair, skitter a few feet away and turn to prepare for another attack before the rough and tumble girl could get back up. "Oh no you don't…" Lana groaned, quickly drawing a park ball just as the angry iron insect surged forward. She hurled the orb at the pokemon, which couldn't evade the projectile quick enough. The ball absorbed it on contact, but it didn't even shake once before the ant burst out. "Whoa...this one's a real fighter." She pulled a fresh pokemon capture device from her bag, but she couldn't throw it; The metal plated bug was too close, meaning she needed to move quickly to avoid it. When it turned for another charge, she took the chance to try and catch it again. The ball shook once, but then burst open.

Before she could reach for a third, the ant pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. In spite of only being a foot tall, the pokemon was pretty heavy. However, Lana was used to wrestling larger, heavier Krokoroks. She may be down, but she wasn't out. As the Durant lunged with its pincers, she grabbed its mandibles and attempted to push it off her. It was a fierce struggle between the two, but the pokemon whisperer was able to turn the tide on the angry ant, pushing it onto its back. Lana got to her feet, but the Durant was just flailing its many legs into the air. It couldn't right itself. She took this as her chance to hurl a park ball right at it. Once more, the Durant was absorbed into the ball. The capture device shook once. Twice. A third time. A fourth. Lana crossed her fingers as she watched and waited until...ding! "YES!"

"Well caught, Miss Loud. Your Durant is male, and possesses the Hustle ability," The pokedex informed her.

"Sweet!" Lana grinned as she claimed her latest catch, sending Nibbles off to the box. "He kinda looks like a soldier ant...so I'm gonna name him Sarge!"

* * *

"I wonder where Lana went…" The white haired teen wondered aloud, as his little sister had gone off the beaten track to find her pokemon, where no cameras existed. He knew Lana could more than handle herself, but he couldn't help but worry about her. Princess gently pat his shoulder with a tentacle in an effort to comfort him.

"Frill illish frillish fri…"

"Princess is right, Lincoln...or at least I think she is," Girl Jordan agreed. "Lana's probably the most equipped out of all of us to handle going through the woods, and the park is sure to have made things as safe as possible. She's more than likely fine."

"I guess…" The one son commented, frowning slightly as he watched Lacey catch the metallic bird from the earlier, releasing the magnet pokemon she had sniped earlier from his little sister. "I think I'm going to get a little snack...would you two like something?"

"Some chocolate covered peanuts would be great...or just plain peanuts if they don't have any, thanks," The young lady with light brown hair requested.

"Sure thing. Coming, Princess?" His pink Frillish nodded in answer. "Alright. We'll be back."

"Don't be long, Linc. They should be announcing the winners soon," Jordan told him. Lincoln simply nodded as he walked past the vending machines and headed right for the cafeteria. He pushed the door open and froze in place. Inside the cafeteria, there were two men and two women in white lab coats, lab goggles, black shirts, pants, hats and boots, along with the woman from the front desk. Stacked upon the tables in the room were cages upon cages of pokemon of all shapes and sizes. The floor was a mess of spilled drinks, dropped papers and pens, and one broken cage. One of the men and women were struggling to get a little purple monkey with a hand on its tail into a cage. The other three seemed to be chatting among themselves, their back to the door. He quickly ducked back behind the egress, leaving the door open a crack to keep watch inside. Princess was about to float in, but her trainer grabbed hold of one of her tentacles, pulling her back behind him.

"Ssshhh…" He hissed, putting a finger to his mouth.

"All this mess from one Aipom...The boss would love to study that one more closely," The park receptionist said with a slight smirk. "Though I still fail to see why you needed me to get involved."

"My apologies, Chief Researcher Nadia...but that little monkey was giving us more than we can handle…"

"Hmph. Is this what Team Helix is enlisting these days?" Nadia asked with a hint of sourness.

"Team Helix?" Lincoln inquired quietly as he watched and listened. "Who are they?"

"Illish?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Princess, but this doesn't look good at all…" He whispered.

"Is the rest of the plan going...well, to plan, Researcher?"

"Naturally. Doctor Arron is already prepared to collect the pokemon collected by the contest participants," The green haired woman explained with a grin. "The moment he strikes, we need to be ready to go. If all goes well, we should be able have plenty of pokemon to use for research purposes." That was all the white haired trainer needed to hear.

"Go tell Girl Jordan about this...I'm going to see if I can help those poor pokemon…"

"Frillish," Princess replied with a nod, floating off toward the crowd watching the television. Meanwhile, Lincoln crept into the dining room. Normally, he would take the time to think of a plan, but there was no time to put together a plan. As Lynn would say in this case, this was a time for action. While these characters from Team Helix were talking and locking away the Aipom, Lincoln slunk his way over to the nearest cage. The Pidgey within started to squirm and thrash about as he came closer.

"Sssshhh...I'm here to help," He muttered, looking over at the five pokemon thieves. Fortunately, they didn't hear its struggles. "I'll need to work fast…" He said as he fiddled with the locking mechanism on the cage. Within a few seconds, it was unlocked and the little bird burst free of its cage. The sudden clang caught the attention of the five Helix folks, giving Lincoln very little time to free a pokemon that looked like an acorn on legs next.

"Well well well…" Nadia said with a smirk as two of her grunts ran to catch the Pidgey. "Look at what we have here...a cute little intruder trying to make a mess of your work."

"Dang it…" Lincoln grumbled as he stepped back away from the researcher and the remaining two grunts.

"What do you think we should do about that?" The green haired woman asked, glancing back at her two underlings.

"Go, Zubat!" The one male grunt yelled out as he called forth the bat pokemon.

"Go, Rattata!" The female behind her cried, summoning a Rattata that was mostly black with whiskers that looked like a mustache. As much as Lincoln wanted to get a pokedex entry on it, there was no time and he knew it.

"That is the correct answer," Nadia said with a satisfied nod, stepping back to let the grunts do their work.

"You don't scare me!" Lincoln declared as he pulled his remaining two pokeballs. "Go, Scorbunny, Pidove!" In a flash of light, Lincoln's cape wearing fire rabbit and the little pigeon appeared in front of him. Scorbunny looked ready to fight, but Pidove seemed utterly oblivious to the fact there were even other pokemon around. "Scorbunny, attack with double kick! Pidove, quick attack!"

"Scor!" The little rabbit replied, charging at the rat pokemon. The Pidove, however, paid its trainer no mind. The Zubat unleashed a sonic screech toward the approaching bunny, but missed him entirely. The rat pokemon ran right back at Scorbunny, slamming its head against him. However, it didn't hurt the fire pokemon. However, the twin kicks he responded with were more than enough to down the mustachioed rat in one attack.

"Zubat, ignore the bird and get that rabbit! Bite attack!" The eyeless blue bat swooped down at the cape wearing bunny, sinking its fangs into his arms. Scorbunny cried out in pain and started to run around in a circle.

"Scorbunny! Don't panic!" He called out. However, the little bunny wasn't panicking. As he ran and started to build up speed, a fiery aura started to surround him. This aura ignited the Zubat, forcing it to let go of his arm. The blazing lapin wasn't finished, though. He turned to his opponent and sprang up toward it, slamming into it with a burning tackle. The badly singed bat fell to the ground, unable to fight any further, Scorbunny landing on the ground in a three point stance. "Whoa! Good work, Scorbunny!"

"Scor!" The battle was far from over, though, for the male grunt was drawing another pokeball from his belt.

* * *

Back out in the lobby area, Girl Jordan was watching with all the others as the contest participants were returning to where they had started. She had a small smile on her face when she felt the light tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw a frantic looking Princess behind her. "Princess? What's wrong?"

"Frill frillish frill frill!" She said, gesticulating wildly with her tentacle toward the cafeteria.

"Uh...I'm sorry, but I don't understand you," Jordan said with a shrug. The pink Frillish facepalmed; she had forgotten that minor detail. She sighed and tried it again, this time deciding to try and mime it out. She pointed toward the cafeteria. "Something up at the cafe?" The jellyfish pokemon nodded before she adopted a shifty look and smirk, rubbing her tentacles together. "uh...villain?"

"Snidely Whiplash?" One of the other trainers who was watching the tv asked, becoming interested in their impromptu game of charades. Frillish just stared at him, then completely ignored him. She then slowly raised her tentacles one at a time.

"A lot of bad guys?" That got a nod from Princess. She then pointed at herself. "You?"

"You're a lot of bad guys?" A younger girl asked.

"Frill fri frillish!" The ghost/water pokemon snapped before focusing back on Jordan, pointing even more seriously at herself. By this point, they were starting to gain more attention from the other trainers in the room.

"You? No...Pokemon?" Princess nodded once more, then held up her tentacles like she was holding onto prison bars. "Jail?"

"No. Pokemon don't go to jail," A tall young lady with long, straight hair interjected. "If anything, they get put into cages." Lincoln's starter pointed excitedly at her.

"I think you got it," Jordan commented. Now, the frillish was putting her two main limbs together. "Put it all together? Hmmmm. A lot of bad guys...in the cafeteria...putting pokemon in cages!?" She exclaimed in alarm as it finally hit her. Princess nodded with urgency as the crowd observing her pantomime cheered.

"Now it's my turn!" The first kibitzer declared, getting the attention of the others, pretending to run a movie camera. The pink frillish glared at him and was about to blast him with a bubblebeam when Jordan took hold of one of her tentacles.

"Nevermind them, Princess. Lincoln's going to need help," The teen in the light brown hair said as she ran toward the eatery.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside in the park, the contest participants were lining up in front of the head ranger and his two aides. "Alright everyone. Time's up," He called out to the young trainers. "Now, release the pokemon you caught so that we can judge them." The children and teens all obediently summoned forth their pokemon, with Lana taking note of what they had caught (so she could come back and catch them later). By the look of it, only a few of them caught actual steel pokemon: Lana, Lacey, and four others. The lead ranger gave each pokemon a critical eye as he started on the far end of the line, simply shaking his head at the non-steel types, only stopping when he reached the steel orb with magnet arms. "I see. A Magnemite. Somewhat common, but looks like it's in good shape. Not bad." He nodded before moving on. A couple more pokemon of varying types until he reached Lacey. "Ah! A Skarmory," He commented as he looked at the antsy, metal plated bird.

"It certainly is. Only the best for me," She responded in a smarmy manner.

"Certainly a healthy looking one. Don't see them too often this time of year…" The stern faced carefully examined the flying pokemon. "A bit scrawny on the offensive end, but it's speed seems impressive." Lacey looked offended, but kept her mouth shut. She knew if she mouthed off to the judge, her chances would be up in smoke. The next monster he stopped at was a human like pokemon that looked to be wearing some kind of yellow dress with a flytrap like maw on the back of it's head. "Mawile. Impressive. Not very many of them in this region." The next acceptable pokemon was another Magnemite, which the lead ranger didn't have much else to say about. This was followed by a small, quadruped steel pokemon that looked something like a turtle, that the ranger called an Aron. The tomboy twin was getting pretty nervous, especially since her Durant was looking agitated when the judge stopped in front of them. "A Durant...?"

"Uh huh…" Lana said, focusing on the angry ant pokemon. The stern ranger leaned in closer to examine the insect, only for the Durant to snap its mandibles at him. "Sarge! Don't do that!"

"Sarge? Nicknamed it already, did you?" He said with a light smirk. "A little firecracker, it is. Definitely prime in offense and speed...but it's defense structure seems lacking. A glass cannon, to be certain." This only made Sarge all the more angry, but he never charged. The lead ranger simply moved on to the last two participants, who didn't have any steel pokemon. "Very good. Fine catches, even if they aren't all steel types. And now, for the winner…" There was a brief pause as he glanced at each pokemon again, the tension between the young trainers thick as pea soup. "And I have decided...all of the pokemon win."

"...what?" Lola asked, looking very confused.

"All of them?" Lana inquired, also lost.

"All of them win!? What is this!? A self esteem contest!?" Lacey snapped, fuming at the notion.

"Not quite. You see, all the pokemon win because they will all be critical for the betterment of science and humanity," The man explained a bit of a smirk appearing on his face.

"...I don't like the sound of that…" Lana said, now as on edge as her new pokemon.

"Science? What does science have to do with it?" The boy in the spectacles from early asked.

"Everything," The lead ranger suddenly threw off his uniform, revealing a scientist jacket, a black long sleeve shirt, black pants and boots underneath. On the chest of his coat was a blue double helix symbol. "...for we are Team Helix. Through science, we strive to create a better world for all." The two aides beside him also performed a quick change, dressed the same as the grunts inside the cafeteria. What's more, even more lab coat wearing neer do wells were emerging from the tall grass and woods.

"Uh...ok…" Lana's rival said, somewhat awkwardly. "...but what does that have to do with us?"

"The pokemon you've collected, now and prior to the contest, will be recruited to the cause of furthering scientific advancement. Both in supplying our numbers with pokemon and as test subjects."

"No way! You can't have my Cutiefly!" Lola objected, pulling the little fuzzy bug closer to her.

"And you aren't taking Sarge, or any of my pokemon, without a fight!" Lana snapped, reaching for her pokeballs.

"Whoever said you were given a choice in the matter?" The stern faced man from Team Helix said grimly, suddenly drawing two pokemon capture devices with the team's ensignia on the front. "Koffing, Stunky. Your presence is required." From inside the two Helix balls, a large purple orb with a goofy face and skull and crossbones on it and a little purple skunk emerged.

"Go, zubat!" The two grunts beside him declared, summoning forth two eyeless bats.

"You still can't take all of us on!" Lana stated, about to throw one of her own pokeballs.

"Koffing, Stunky, poison gas. Immediately." The two poison types obeyed without question, the Koffing spewing a cloud of toxic gas from its mouth and the Stunky from its bushy tail. "Sir, Madam. If you will…"

"At once, Chief Scientist Arron!" His aides responded in unison. "Zubat, whirlwind attack!" The two bats flapped their wings as hard as they could, kicking up a swirling wind which blew the cloud of poison toward the ground of trainers and pokemon, and then surrounded them with it.

"And now you are faced with the following problem: you are surrounded by a swirling mass of poison. Should you or your pokemon attempt to cross it, you will become poisoned. What will you do?" Arron asked them in an almost robotic voice, remarkably like Lisa's old speech pattern. "My hypothesis...you will surrender. It is the logical course of action." The group of trainers were forced to huddle together to avoid getting engulfed in the gas. However, Lacey didn't seem at all concerned.

"Step aside, peasants, and let a superstar show you how it's done," She said as she looked to her Skarmory. "Skarmory, blow this horrible gas away with your wings," She instructed. However, her metal bird seemed to be ignoring her. "Skarmory! I said get rid of that gas!"

"The pokemon you caught with OUR Helix balls won't listen to you," The chief scientist informed them with a wry smirk. "Technically speaking, they aren't YOUR pokemon."

"You basically had us do your dirty work!" The nerdy young boy exclaimed in horror.

"That is correct." Lana grinded her teeth in anger when she heard this, looking at her Durant. He looked as angry as she was, if not more so.

'Wait...if what he said is true, then why did Sarge's data appear in my pokedex?' The hat wearing twin wondered in her mind. '...Maybe he is still my pokemon...well, one way to find out.' Lana glared up at the three shadows in the poisonous fog and pointed a finger directly at the tallest of the three. "CHARGE!" She yelled. That was all the angry army ant needed to hear before he ran right through the poison gas with zero cares given. He tore right through the polluted air like it wasn't even there, then leapt at Arron, its pincers prepped. The chief scientist clearly wasn't expecting this and ended up getting tackled to the ground by Sarge. "Hey! It worked! That guy was lying!"

"Actually, I suspect your Durant wanted to attack on its own. The fact you wanted him to charge at the same time was just a happy coincidence," The little boy in the thick glasses stated.

"Oh...well, I'll take it anyway." The tomboy said as she watched the Helix admin and his aides struggle against Durant.

"But what do we do now?" Lola asked, shaking a little as the cloud seemed to inch closer.

"That is the burning question...we cannot call forth any of our pokemon without them getting terribly sick, unless they are poison or steel types…" The nerdy child said as his eyes darted around, analyzing the situation in his mind. "...but even if they could get past the poison, they'd be overwhelmed by the sheer number of brutes waiting on the other side. In order for us to do anything, this gas needs to go…"

'A poison pokemon? Wait! I have a poison pokemon!' Lana realized with a big grin. "Go, Flan!" She declared, throwing her Grimer's pokeball into the poison.

"Weren't you listening, mud child!?" Lacey chided her. "Even if your pokemon are used to your disgusting smell and habits, they'll still-" Lana simply ignored her as Flan emerged from his portable home within the foul cloud.

"Hey, Flan! Look at all that nice, tasty air pollution all around you!" She cried out, surprising everyone trapped within the deadly vortex...everyone except her twin sister.

"Grimer?" Flan asked as he looked all around him, then clapped his hands together. "Grimer!"

"I hate to burst your bubble, Miss...but poison pokemon don't eat-" The little nerd's lecture was cut off as they all heard something akin to a vacuum cleaner. Within seconds, the tornado of gas slowly started to fade, the toxins being sucked right into the Alolan Grimer's open mouth. In no time at all, much to Koffing and Stunky's shock, the poison was gone and Flan was patting his belly before belching out loud. "...Then again, I've been wrong before."

"That was the grossest thing I have EVER seen…" Lacey St Claire commented, looking ready to throw up.

"I wouldn't complain! Now we can fight back!" Lola exclaimed as she released her Cutiefly from her grip. The squad of grunts each pulled out Helix balls of their own, ready to engage these children.

* * *

Back in the cafeteria, Scorbunny had just finished kicking a dark gray canine to the ground, adding it to the pile of Helix grunt pokemon. He looked pretty tired, but pleased with himself. "Great job, Scorbunny. That's all of them!" Lincoln exclaimed.

"Not quite, Snowflake," Nadia said as she stepped up. "If you want something done right…" She mumbled, reaching down her shirt and into her cleavage to pull out a Helix ball. "Castform, show them how it's done." From with the ball came a wispy little gray pokemon with big eyes.

"A Castform? What's that?" Lincoln wondered. However, he didn't have time to go for his pokedex.

"Castform, use Rain Dance, sweetie," The green haired woman instructed. The Castform performed a kind of floating jig in midair, which caused a downpour to happen right in the cafe.

"Gah! How'd it do that?" Lincoln asked, trying to cover his head with his arms. Scorbunny tried to do the same with his blanket cape. However, the rain seemed to have an even more adverse effect on him, making him more tired. "Scorbunny!?"

"Looks like your bitty bunny is a little allergic to water," Nadia commented with a grin. "Unlike Castform…" Just then, her ghost like monster started to change, its shape becoming like a raindrop sitting atop a rain cloud.

"What the…?"

"Nice, isn't it? Castform's forecast ability allows her to change with the weather. And that's not all. Weather Ball!" The shape changing pokemon opened her mouth, a sphere of water forming before her.

"Scorbunny! Look out!" The one son cried out, but too late. The liquid orb was launched right at the fire rabbit, blasting the little guy right off his feet. Scorbunny fell flat on his back, out cold. "Scorbunny!" Lincoln reached for his pokemon's pokeball, but before he could reach it, he was grabbed by both arms by two of the grunts.

"Hehehe. You had a good run there, Snowflake, but you were no match for Team Helix," She told him with a grin. "Take his pokeballs. That Scorbunny would make a great subject of study." The female grunt to Lincoln's left relinquished him of his three pokeballs, only to make an alarming discovery.

"Chief Researcher! He has three pokeballs, but only two pokemon."

"Oh really?" Nadia looked the one son in the eyes, grinning even more. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Be a good boy and tell me where your third pokemon is hiding."

"No way in hell…" The white haired boy growled.

"Oh! I like me a fighter. I warn you, Snowflake...I'm not Team Helix's Chief Researcher for nothing. I'm a master at information retrieval. I know just how to make others give me the information we want. So, I'm gonna ask nicely one more time." She leaned in so close to him, their noses were touching. "Tell me where your third pokemon went, please," she requested politely before softly whispering into his ear. "Please say no."

"Frill...ISH!" His jellyfish pokemon yelled out before a rain boosted bubble beam shot from her mouth, blasting the female grunt right off her trainer and across the room. In the process, she dropped all of his taken pokemon capture devices, one of them bopping Pidove on the head. Nadia was stunned by this sudden attack; so stunned, she couldn't stop Lincoln from punching the male grunt in the face.

"There's your answer," Lincoln commented in a bit of a smart aleck way.

"Castform-!"

"Oh no you don't! Timburr, pound it!" A voice cried out.

"Tiiiiiim…" The log carrying human like pokemon sprang from behind Lincoln, over his and Nadia's head, and swung his thick wooden club at the weather pokemon. She had no time to evade, the log smashing her right in the head. "...BURRRRRR!" The sudden attack was enough to daze the Castform.

"Where did you come from!?" Nadia asked in surprise, just before Girl Jordan shoulder checked her away from her friend. This sent her right into the nearest table, knocking a few empty cages and one with a Scatterbug to the floor.

"Jordan, Princess, you have amazing timing," Lincoln commented with a slight smirk.

"Frillish," The jellyfish pokemon responded, looking proud of herself.

"Castform, use Thunder! Blast that little caveman pokemon!" Nadia exclaimed as she pointed at Timburr, rising to her feet.

"Cast-" The weather changing pokemon started to charge up an electrical attack, but before she could unleash it, a blur of gray slammed into it from behind. The resulting impact was more than enough to knock it out. Pidove slowed to a hover and turned around, eyes set and searching for a new opponent.

'Oh, now you want to get involved…' Lincoln thought bitterly. He was going to have to have a LONG talk with Pidove about this, but now wasn't the time. Nadia had recalled her pokemon and had pulled two more pokemon containment devices from down her shirt.

"Alright you two. You want to play games, then let's play. Go, Helioptile, Lombre!" From the pokeballs, out came a little yellow and black lizard with ear like frills that opened up like a paper fan, and a kappa like monster with a lilypad on its head.

"Dang it...Missing out on a chance to catalogue so many pokemon…" Lincoln muttered, keeping his focus on the woman in front of them. "Pidove, quick attack!"

"Timburr, pound em!"

"Not so fast, little miss. Lombre, fake out!" Before either Pidove or Timburr could move, Lombre seemed to vanish and reappear right in front of the club wielding pokemon. It clapped its hands together, causing a startling shockwave, throwing Timburr off his attack. The pigeon pokemon, however, was still free to attack, colliding with the frilled lizard pokemon head on. The attack seemed to have hit a particularly sour spot on the Helioptile, but it was still able to get back up. "And now, Thunder!"

"Don't worry, Lincoln. Thunder is so inaccurate, it'll never hit-" Girl Jordan started to say confidently. However, the generator pokemon opened its frills and unleashed a devastating electrical attack on Pidove. In spite of his small size and speed, the dove was fried by the bolt of lightning and KO'ed in one hit. "What!?"

"Looks like you have a lot to learn. Thunder is very inaccurate, but when it's raining, it will almost always hit," Nadia explained with a sinister grin.

"That's why you put the rain up...to give yourself every advantage," Lincoln realized with a frown.

"Precisely, Snowflake," The Chief Researcher responded with a smirk. Lincoln would be sweating about now if not for the rain. His last pokemon was Princess, and she was part water pokemon, against this powerful little electric pokemon. But surrender wasn't an option.

"Princess! You're up!" The white haired trainer called out, his starter floating over in front of him. "Get that Helioptile with Night Shade!"

"Timburr, let's try this again! Pound it!" Jordan instructed.

"Lombre, Helioptile, you know what to do," Nadia ordered with a calm smile. The electric lizard was first to act, unleashing another powerful bolt of lightning aimed right at Princess. His frillish screamed in agony as the bolt struck her head on. However, she barely hung on by the skin of her teeth, her gelatinous body smoking a bit from the hit. Her Lombre was next to move, spewing forth a jet of water from its mouth right at Timburr. The water gun attack knocked the fighting pokemon backwards and onto his back, rendering him unable to fight. The chief researcher grinned as Jordan, but before she could say anything.

"I know. I know. Rain boosts water attacks…" She grumbled as she recalled her starting pokemon.

"Very good!" The team Helix admin said in a very condescending way, which further angered the young lady.

"Go, Pinsir!" She yelled as she summoned forth her burly bug pokemon from its portable home. Meanwhile, the very hurt and very angry Princess started to emit a sinister purple aura, leering at the Helioptile. The little lizard was suddenly surrounded by the same aura, making it cry out before it collapsed from exhaustion.

"Not bad, you two. You managed to get half of my team," Nadia told them, though she still had a smug look about her. It was at this moment the rain stopped.

"Ha! And now you lost your advantage!" The once popular girl said, thinking this was their chance.

"...go, Pelipper," Nadia said simply, still smiling. A large blue and white pelican that appeared to be mostly beak appeared where Helioptile once stood. As soon as it appeared, the rain cloud reformed on the ceiling and it started raining again.

"Oh, come on!" Both Lincoln and Jordan yelled in frustration, making Nadia laugh.

"That's it! Pinsir, mash that Lombre! Brick Break!" The stag beetle pokemon heeded her instruction without hesitation, rushing forth and landing a strong chop to the kappa pokemon's lily pad. The opposing pokemon seemed quite dazed and damaged from the attack. However, water started to accumulate into its makeshift hat. It then absorbed that water and that seemed to heal a few of its injuries. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"Nice try, Gingersnap, but not nice enough. Pelipper, Water Pulse." The mostly beak pelican pokemon puffed up its cheeks for a moment before unleashing a watery shockwave right at Jordan's Pinsir. With the rain, the pulse attack did some serious damage to the stag beetle. What's worse, the insect pokemon was looking pretty dizzy and disorientated. Princess wasn't in any better shape, as Lombre had sprang upon the pink jellyfish, clamping its hands on her head as it absorbed what's left of her energy, causing her to faint. Lincoln could hardly believe his eyes. All of his pokemon had fainted...and in the worst possible circumstance. Yes, Jordan still had a pokemon to fight with, but he was on his last legs and it was still two on one. Things were looking pretty bleak...

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the park, it was absolute bedlam. Grunts and young trainers alike were engaging each other in what could only be described as a free for all. As Chief Scientist Arron explained, most of the pokemon caught via the contest weren't engaging in the carnage. However, Lola's Cutiefly was fighting to defend Lola alongside Isabella, and Sarge was still trying to get its pincers on Arron, as this was what both wanted to do. Arron's aides were trying to pull the furious steel plated ant off their boss, barely managing to get him off the serious faced man. "Harumph...looks like you need a lesson...Koffing, Flamethrower!" The gas filled pokemon turned toward Durant, opening its mouth and summoning a little orb of fire in front of it. Sarge suddenly froze in fear as he saw the building flame. However, when the Koffing spat the stream of fire at him, Flan suddenly leapt into its path to take the blast. The steel ant looked on in surprise as Lana's pokemon just took a hit for him.

"Good work, Flan! Now, attack with bite!" Lana commanded. The Grimer nodded to her and sprang at the Koffing, snapping his mouth against it. In spite of his lack of teeth, the bite clearly hurt. The skunk pokemon glared at Flan, extending its little claws. Before it could pounce at the sludge pokemon, Sarge zipped toward it, his mandibles shining before he slashed at the skunk. The zubats split up, with one attacking the ooze monster, and the other focusing on Sarge.

"Isabella, Ember!" Lola commanded, her Litleo unleashing a torrent of blazing particles upon an opposing Zigzagoon, causing it to faint. With the threat off of her, she took a moment to look around. Almost every trainer who had participated in the contest were battling the gang of pokemon thieves. The only one who wasn't getting involved was Lacey. "Hey! Make yourself useful!"

"What do you want me to do? My pokemon are show pokemon, not fighting pokemon," Lacey said with a superior aire.

"Number one, so are mine, but they're still stomping these goons!" Lola informed her as she sent Isabella after a Helix Bellsprout. "And number two, then call the police!"

"And waste my minutes!?"

"Ugh!" Lola groaned as she pulled out her pokedex, grumbling something about stupid brats as she dialed the police. Arron's aides helped him up while all this was going on, giving him an opportunity to survey the scene.

"...an unforeseen factor," he muttered with a frown. "It seems I will need to work damage control to retain control of this experiment…" He pulled a pitch black helix ball from his lab coat. "Ditto, your assistance is required!" From the ball emerged a small, pink blob with little dots for eyes.

"A Ditto?" Lana asked, looking to the ooze pokemon. It turned its attention toward Sarge and, in the blink of an eye, became an exact duplicate of the Durant...except for its dot eyes. Before the animal loving Loud could even process what she just saw, the double of the iron ant sped over to Flan, clamping its pincers into his back. The Grimer was quickly getting overwhelmed by the three pokemon attacking him. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, child. It is scientifically proven."

"...you wanna play like that!? Ok! Go get em, team!" Lana said as she tossed her remaining pokeballs out onto the field. Out came Dusty, Zubat, Mankey and Hops. Before she could even give any instructions, the angry pig monkey pokemon rushed over and dove onto the Helix Aides' bat pokemon. Lana was surprised, but it worked in her favor, so she just rolled with it. "Hops, use Water Gun! Zubat, Supersonic! Dusty, Stun Spore!" Her three more obedient pokemon nodded and went on the offensive. The Tympole focused on Koffing, spraying it down with a jet of water. Between that and the damage it took from Flan, it was just too much and it fainted. The Durant duplicate, however, zipped away from the badly injured blob pokemon like a blur, avoiding the sonic shockwave and the cloud of paralyzing powder. The tomboy twin gasped as the Ditto ant charged right into her Spewpa like a freight train, knocking it out in one hit. This copy was even faster, and possibly stronger than the actual Sarge...and that worried her terribly.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Arron asked with a smug smirk. "Ditto, unlike your pokemon, is one of absolute perfection. Offensively, defensively, endurance, speed; all of which greater than any other Ditto, or any pokemon the Ditto becomes." Lana's eyeless bat pokemon let loose with another Supersonic, but once more, the Sarge double evaded the attack effortlessly. It sprung into the air, clamped its jaws onto the Zubat and slammed it right into the ground. It then turned its beady eyes onto Hops.

"Hops! Mud Shot!" Lana called out desperately. The tadpole pokemon shot a stream of water into the ground, which sent a beam of muddy water at the Ditto. It connected just fine, but the copying pokemon tore through it like it was nothing. It slashed at Hops with its mandibles, dealing some serious damage to the poor water pokemon. It opened its jaws to finish it off, only to be set upon by the original Sarge, who snapped his pincers around the double's neck. The two Durants struggled with one another, kicking up dirt and grass as they fought. Sarge himself was pretty darn tough, but the duplicate was just a little stronger, as the chief scientist said. So, after a fashion, the copy had the Durant pinned. Just as the Ditto intended to strike a finishing blow, a soft, repetitive sound could be heard in the distance. A sound that made it, its trainer, and all the Helix goons turn to see what it was. Off in the distance was a small squad of helicopters.

"...Damn," Arron growled. "All Team Helix members, abort mission!" He commanded loudly before he recalled his pokemon and quickly pulled a communicator from his lab coat pocket.

* * *

"Oh, too bad, Gingersnap…" Nadia taunted with a smirk as her Pelipper smacked down the Pinser with one of his wings, finishing the stag beetle pokemon off. "Looks like you're out of pokemon and out of luck."

"That's where you're wrong…" Jordan informed her, pulling out the pokeball containing the Goldeen she had caught earlier. She didn't really have a lot of confidence in it, since she had only caught it recently, but what choice did she have at the moment? She was about to toss it in front of her when a strange, oddly upbeat musical tune filled the air. The Chief Researcher blinked and pulled her communicator from her pocket.

"Hold that thought," She said, answering it. "Yes, Chief Scientist?...What? Abort? But wh-Oh...Right. Understood," She said, though she didn't look happy about this at all. She disconnected the call and looked back at Lincoln and Girl Jordan. "Well, it looks like you two got lucky. We have to go, so you'll be keeping your pokemon this time. However, should we meet again, your pokemon...will be ours." She gave them a sinister grin before turning to her minions. "Drop everything and abort. We'll take what we have in the vans now and go. Double time!" The grunts all nodded and made a mad dash for the nearest exit. Nadia soon followed, pausing only to turn back to the two and give them a wink while saying "See you around," before she disappeared from sight.

"...what just happened?" Girl Jordan asked in utter confusion, standing there in the artificial rain, holding the pokeball in her hand.

"...we got our butts handed to us…" Lincoln answered as the reality of the situation sank in as the adrenaline wore off. "...and we almost lost our pokemon…" The one son kind of reeled in place for a moment before he fell back, falling right on his butt, looking down at the pokeballs holding his precious pokemon. His eyes were filling with tears as his friend walked over to him, trying to console him.

* * *

Back outside, a large, snow white cargo copter with the blue double helix symbol on the side had risen from behind the thick forest Lana had been pokemon hunting in mere moments before. The moment it went into the air, it launched a volley of canisters toward where the trainers and their pokemon were all gathered. Instinctively, Lana, Lola and a handful of others hit the dirt. However, when the canisters hit the ground, billowing clouds of gray smoke started to fill the air. None of them could see what was going on as the Chief Scientist and the Helix grunts ran to the landing aircraft and quickly boarded to make their getaway. By the time the smoke cleared, Team Helix was gone.

* * *

After the trainers were able to get their pokemon back in their pokeballs (a rather arduous task for Lana and her ranging Mankey, which just wanted to pummel anything that moved), the police had finally arrived, both by van and by helicopter, and swarmed both the park and the visitor center. Once they were sure no further Team Helix presence remained, they started taking statements from the participants, Jordan and Lincoln. The two friends were wrapped in towels, since they were soaked to the bone from the constant indoor rain. "...and so, when you looked into the cafeteria, you saw Team Helix putting pokemon into cages?" Officer Jenny inquired as she was taking notes.

"Yes, ma'am," The very shaken young man answered. "Or at least they identified themselves as Team Helix...I heard one of them get named Chief Researcher Nadia…"

"Nadia?" The officer asked with a gasp. "She's one of the head honchos of the organization."

"Not to mention an insanely strong trainer..." Jordan admitted, somewhat bitter at the loss.

"You two fought her!? Don't you know how dangerous that was!?"

"...I only intended to go in and free the captive pokemon," Lincoln explained. "But I was caught…"

"I see. Well, as good as your intentions were, you should have called the police when you saw them," Jenny scolded him as she finished taking notes. "You're very lucky they were scared off by our approach, or you could have lost all of your pokemon."

"...don't remind me…" The white haired teen groaned, looking down at the floor. The police officer noticed the sorrowful expression on his face and the tears filling his eyes once again, and the stern look melted from her face. She could see he was feeling bad enough about the whole thing.

"Ahem...at any rate, what happened next?"

"Well, after I was caught, the ones she was bossing around attacked me…" He continued, not looking up. "Scorbunny was able to handle them pretty easily by himself...but then Nadia got involved…"

"I tried to help him, but her pokemon were just too strong," Jordan added, looking sadly at her friend. "I was down to my last pokemon when she got a call from a Chief Scientist…"

"Chief Scientist? Arron was here too!?" The blue haired peace officer looked aghast at the idea. "...this must have been a serious operation to bring two of their leaders into play...but why?"

"From what we can tell, they were just kidnapping pokemon from the park," The light brunette teen explained.

"Yes, but that sort of job...it doesn't really fit bringing two leaders…" Jenny frowned as she nibbled on the cap of her pen. "At any rate, thank you for your cooperation, kids...I think that's about all we need to know for now. I'd recommend you tread lightly in the future, should you end up involved in another of Team Helix' schemes again."

"...we will, officer…" Lincoln replied in an almost Lucy like monotone.

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the park was the bulk of the police force, getting statements from the contest participants and helping them heal up their pokemon. In addition, they were freeing the pokemon they had caught from the Helix balls. For the most part, the once captured pokemon simply retreated back to their original habitats, with a few exceptions; Lacey wasn't about to let her Skarmory get away, Lola's Cutiefly stuck to her like a fly to honey, and Sarge seemed quite torn, looking between Lana and the woods he called home. The hat wearing twin was kneeling among her recently revived pokemon, healing them with her own potions. The iron plated ant just stood there for several seconds before it started to skitter his way back over to her. He nudged her to get her attention, a move that surprised her. "Sarge?" She asked him. "What's up?" The ant pokemon made a clicking, chattering sound as it attempted to speak with her. "...really?" She asked, her face brightening up. "You really want to come with us?" Sarge nodded, looking quite serious. This significantly boosted the young lady's mood as she pulled out one of her own pokeballs and tossed it at Durant. This time, the feisty insect pokemon offered no resistance, accepting his new role as a member of Lana's team. As the police were wrapping up their investigation and search of the park for possible stragglers, the spectators inside the visitor center were permitted to leave. Most of which just vacated, while others went into the park proper to make sure their friends and family were alright out there. The moment the one son and his old friend from school emerged from the building, with a very tired looking Princess riding on Lincoln's back. The twins ran over to them and gave them big hugs.

"Lincoln! Jordan!" Lola cried out as she hugged them.

"Girls, I heard that there were pokemon thieves out here too...are you both alright?" Lincoln asked as he held his little sisters tightly.

"Yeah...it got kinda scary when that scientist guy pulled out that shape changing pokemon…" Lana admitted, when she took notice of how shaken her brother looked and the fact the two were still wet. "...what happened to you two? Are you ok?"

"We're fine, Lana...so to speak…" Jordan said, looking sympathetically at Lincoln. "There were a handful of thieves and one of their leaders in the visitor center…"

"...we almost lost our pokemon…" The middle Loud said, his voice sounding a little choked up. The polar opposite sisters held their brother close, both in an act of comfort and because they realized how close they had come to losing their pokemon as well.

"It's ok, Linc…" Lana said softly. "Everything turned out alright in the end…"

"Yeah," Lola agreed, trying to give him a reassuring smile. "It was rough for us, Lana especially, but we still made it through…"

"Yeah...but it was because of luck that the police arrived when they did…" Their older brother said seriously.

"Hey! That wasn't luck. I called them!" The pageant princess objected with a frown.

"I mean that they arrived just when we were losing...and we can't rely on that kind of luck," The one son said. "If we ever meet them again...we'll need to be ready…"

"And we will be, Lincoln…" Girl Jordan told him, patting him on the back.

"Right. We'll all train like there's no tomorrow," Lana agreed. "But first, I think we should tell Lisa what happened."

"...Good idea," Lincoln said, as he pulled out his pokedex. "She'll want to know about this. Maybe she can tell the Elite Four as well," He added as he dialed up his second youngest sister.

* * *

_Main Characters current pokemon teams:_

_Lincoln_

_Frillish aka Princess  
Water Ghost  
Ability: Cursed Body  
_

_Pidove  
Normal Flying  
Ability: Super Luck_

_Scorbunny  
Fire  
Ability: Blaze_

_Lola_

_Furfrou aka Brittany_  
_Normal_  
_Ability: Fur Coat_

_Pichu aka Brat_  
_Electric_  
_Ability: Static_  
_Egg Move: Volt Tackle_

_Litleo aka Isabella  
Fire/Normal  
Ability: Rivalry_

_Goldeen  
Water  
Ability: Water Veil_

_Cutiefly  
Fairy/Bug  
Ability: Honey Gatherer_

_Lana_

_Tympole aka Hops_  
_Water_  
_Ability: Hydration_

_Spewpa aka Dusty_  
_Bug  
__Ability: Shield Dust_

_Zubat  
Poison/Flying  
Ability: Unknown_

_Mankey  
Fighting  
Ability: Vital Spirit_

_Alolan Grimer aka Flan  
Poison/Dark  
Ability: Gluttony_

_Durant AKA Sarge  
Steel/Bug  
Ability:Hustle_

_Girl Jordan_

_Timburr_  
_Fighting_  
_Ability: Guts_

_Pinsir_  
_Bug_  
_Ability:Mold Breaker_

_Goldeen  
Water  
Ability:Water Veil_


End file.
